Hannah Watson awarded PhD scholarship to advance safer, more personalised care for premature babies

Emerging researcher Hannah Watson has been awarded a University of Western Australia (UWA) PhD scholarship, with additional top-up funding from the Women and Infants Research Foundation (WIRF), to undertake research aimed at improving outcomes for babies born too early.

Each year, an estimated 13.4 million babies worldwide are born prematurely, before their organs have fully developed. Immature lung development is a significant challenge for these infants, often leading to respiratory difficulties and increasing the risk of long-term complications such as neurosensory impairment, learning difficulties, and chronic health problems.

Antenatal steroids are a widely used, lifesaving treatment that helps accelerate fetal lung development when preterm birth is anticipated. While their benefits were established more than 50 years ago, Hannah explains that many aspects of this therapy remain largely unchanged, despite growing evidence that current approaches could be improved.

“Antenatal steroids have saved countless lives, but we still don’t fully understand how they work,” Hannah said.

“We’re using very similar drugs, doses and delivery methods to those used in the 1970s, yet research now suggests that lower doses may be just as effective, steroids can adversely impact other organs, and up to 40 per cent of babies don’t respond to treatment.”

Hannah’s PhD will build on WIRF-led research that has already demonstrated opportunities to refine antenatal steroid therapy to improve lung outcomes while reducing potential harm. Her work will focus on how steroids are delivered and why individual responses vary, with the goal of enabling more precise and personalised treatment.

One major component of her research will explore a novel transdermal patch that delivers steroids at a sustained, low dose, rather than via injection, which causes a rapid spike in steroid levels. Hannah aims to refine this delivery system, following a successful proof-of-principle study conducted by her research group.

“This approach has the potential to support lung development while reducing off-target effects on other organs,” she said.

“If we can deliver the right amount of steroid, in the right way, we may be able to improve safety as well as effectiveness.”

Another key focus of Hannah’s PhD will take place in the laboratory, using real lung tissue kept alive in culture. By exposing the tissue to different steroid doses in a controlled environment, Hannah aims to better understand why some babies respond well to treatment, others partially, and some not at all.

“We believe individuals have distinct ranges of steroid sensitivity. This model lets us study lung cells in a near-natural environment, bringing us closer to personalised treatment strategies rather than a one-size-fits-all approach,” Hannah explained.

Ultimately, Hannah’s research aims to optimise a critical therapy that has already saved millions of lives, making it safer, more effective and more tailored to individual babies.

Reflecting on her PhD journey, Hannah said “I’m most excited by the pursuit of new knowledge and the potential to make a meaningful impact, however small it may be.”

“I am especially excited to carry out this work with such an epic supervisory and wider research team.”

WIRF congratulates Hannah on her scholarship award and is proud to support research that advances better care and outcomes for women, babies, and families.