For the past three years BHP has been working alongside Telethon Kids Institute in an innovative partnership, helping the Institute transform itself into a world-class research environment.
In 2014 BHP became a principal partner of Telethon Kids, supporting a bold new blueprint to make a tangible difference in the community. This includes recruitment of leading scientists, greater community involvement, new technologies, a commitment to collaboration and translating research into practical outcomes.
Nick Wood, the Institute’s Director of Corporate Services, explains what the partnership means for the Institute. “At the beginning of 2014, the Institute had spectacularly bright, talented researchers whose science was cutting edge. Unfortunately for them, the Institute’s back-of-house processes were not. They needed the right systems and research platforms in place to help them produce health and medical knowledge that makes a difference.”
According to Dave Bunting, Manager of Social Investment for BHP, it was a natural fit. “At BHP we know what it takes to transform an organisation. It takes leadership, strategic vision, and a focus on efficient systems, on quality processes and on people. But it also takes investment. Telethon Kids had everything going for it in spades – except for the funding necessary to strategically transform. We were able to provide that.”
“What is so impressive about this partnership is that it is truly transformational. Through this partnership the Institute will have better research platforms, significantly reduced operating costs and more sustainable income streams. That means the best researchers will be kept here in WA doing what they do best – quality research that is used by clinicians and other health providers to help our kids.”
Indeed. Since BHP signed on as the Institute’s Strategic Partner in mid-2014 – a commitment of $20 million over five years – the Institute has been able to provide its research laboratories with the sophisticated equipment needed and to invest in the latest technologies to keep researchers working at the top of their respective fields. BHP’s partnership has also enabled the Institute to develop a more comprehensive capacity in bioinformatics, biostatistics, data linkage, bioresources and clinical trials platforms.
Research support services have also expanded. For example, researchers are now able to spend far more time on research and less on writing grants thanks to a newly-established dedicated team who identify funding opportunities and submit grant applications for them. As a result, the Institute’s grant success has dramatically improved.
“These are all necessary platforms and support structures for our researchers to get on with the job of discovering cures and better therapies for children with chronic illnesses and diseases, and of translating their research into practical outcomes,” Nick says.
The Institute’s researchers are responding to the new research environment enthusiastically.
“What I love about working at the Institute is that there are experts who are employed to help us at every stage of our research to maximise our chances of success,” child development expert Professor Donna Cross says. “And that we all define success the same way: making a difference to the wellbeing of children and youth across Western Australia and beyond.”
BHP’s level of support also frees up Dr Shelley Gorman, Head of the Cardiometabolic Sunhealth program, to do what she does best – research.
“It just gives me peace of mind knowing I can come into work and focus,” she says. “I’m sure we would not be as far along in our science were it not for BHP’s transformational support.”
But BHP didn’t just want to help provide the essential back-of-house services. They also wanted to inspire the Institute’s researchers. They did this by creating the ‘BHP Blue Sky Awards’, a competitive funding program within the Institute that encourages paradigm- shifting research. This is ‘high risk, high return’ research that is curiosity-driven and exploratory – the sort of research that leads to new lines of inquiry and breakthroughs.
“We know from our own business transformation project that sometimes the best ideas come from the most unlikely places,” Dave says. “That’s what I like about the Blue Sky program – it’s all about taking a bit of a risk and generating ideas that wouldn’t otherwise be funded through traditional means. Often it’s these out-of-the-box ideas that generate the best results.”
One particular line of Blue Sky inquiry is: “What if we can reverse the damage caused by infection and give kids a healthy future?” It’s a question Dr Anthony Bosco, head of the Centre for Personalised Medicine for Children, is attempting to answer thanks to a BHP Blue Sky Award.
Anthony admits that investigating whether it is possible to isolate affected genes and reverse genetic changes is high-risk, and too unpredictable to get the backing of usual funding sources. “If this experiment works, we’ll be ecstatic — it will be a breakthrough for us,” he says.
Other BHP Blue Sky Awards have gone to projects seeking to convert fatal cancer into a manageable chronic disease; to explore a personalised therapeutic peptide vaccination targeting mutated cancer antigens; to use systems biology to identify repurposed drugs that can reprogram virus-induced developmental changes in early life; to apply functional genomics to study the genetic basis of autism; and to discover a new class of drugs for treating severe childhood asthma.
It’s an exciting time to be a researcher at Telethon Kids. Researchers are feeling better supported in their careers than ever before and the Institute is able to retain its top talent. It’s easier to recruit top scientists to Western Australia for collaboration. Young scientists are being trained to be leaders. Logistical problems researchers used to face are now solved. Researchers can now be confident that their research data is backed up and protected. All of their laboratory consumables are purchased through a price-controlling procurement process. The Institute reports annually on the impact their research is having. They get support in acquitting their competitive grants. They get assistance with the patenting and commercialisation of their research discoveries. They are able to thrive.
And how does this help a child with cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, allergies, or mental illness?
“First of all, it keeps and brings the best researchers to Australia,” Dave says. “What we at BHP have been able to help the Institute do is speed up the research and to support high research quality. It’s important that research discoveries are translated into health-enhancing interventions as soon as possible.”
Nick agrees. “We believe this is a new model for community partnerships where the impact is not just an event or a project but the solid and sustainable undergirding to achieve multiple and diverse child health outcomes. It is also a partnership that is aspirational – BHP wants the children of Australia and the world to be healthy. And that’s our mission, full-stop.”
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