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Four BrightSpark Fellowships awarded to early-career researchers at The Kids

Congratulations to four outstanding early-career researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia, who have been awarded BrightSpark Foundation fellowships and project funding for 2026.

National funding for bright ideas targeting ear infections and dangerous fungi

Two projects led by The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded more than $2.5 million to fund innovative ideas focused, respectively, on combating persistent ear infections and investigating how dangerous fungi invade the bodies of immunocompromised people.

Auditory-cued exercise therapy (ACET) in 7–12-year-old children with listening difficulties–a feasibility and pilot trial protocol

(Central) Auditory Processing Disorder ([C]APD) is an umbrella term for children who have difficulty with listening, despite normal hearing. Children with (C)APD frequently experience academic, behavioural, emotional, cognitive and social difficulties, and lack accessible, long-lasting wholistic treatments. Hence, a transdisciplinary intervention has been developed – Auditory-Cued Exercise Therapy. 

Immunogenicity, otitis media, hearing impairment, and nasopharyngeal carriage 6-months after 13-valent or ten-valent booster pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, stratified by mixed priming schedules: PREVIX_COMBO and PREVIX_BOOST randomised controlled trials

Australian First Nations children are at very high risk of early, recurrent, and persistent bacterial otitis media and respiratory tract infection. With the PREVIX randomised controlled trials, we aimed to evaluate the immunogenicity of novel pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) schedules.

Glue Ear

Glue ear is when a child's middle ear fills with sticky fluid behind the ear drum. A common condition, glue ear usually goes undetected, as it's not an obvious condition from the outside.

Aural toilet (ear cleaning) for chronic suppurative otitis media

This is the first update of a Cochrane review published in 2020. Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), sometimes referred to as chronic otitis media, is a chronic inflammation and often polymicrobial infection of the middle ear and mastoid cavity, characterised by ear discharge (otorrhoea) through a perforated tympanic membrane. The predominant symptoms of CSOM are ear discharge and hearing loss. Aural toileting describes processes for manually cleaning the ear, including dry mopping (with cotton wool or tissue paper), suction clearance (typically under a microscope), or irrigation (using manual or automated syringing). Aural toileting can be used alone or in addition to other treatments for CSOM, such as antibiotics or topical antiseptics. This is one of a suite of seven Cochrane reviews evaluating the effects of non-surgical interventions for CSOM. 

High rates of suppurative otitis media among children attending urban clinics in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea: a cross-sectional study

Otitis media (OM) is the leading cause of childhood hearing loss but its burden in low-middle-income countries like Papua New Guinea (PNG) is poorly understood. We aimed to determine the proportion of children aged ≤15 years attending clinics in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, PNG with OM and associated risk factors.

FBXO11, a regulator of the TGFΒ pathway, is associated with severe otitis media in Western Australian children

Otitis media (OM) is a common childhood disease characterised by middle ear inflammation following infection

Predominance of nontypeable haemophilus influenzae in children with otitis media

In Australia the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) is administered at 2, 4 and 6 months of age, with no booster dose.

Crowding and other strong predictors of upper respiratory tract carriage of otitis media-related bacteria

Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae is associated with otitis media