The Kids Research Institute Australia considers every element of the Institute that enables or facilitates researchers to focus on their vitally important work to be their shared 'research platform'. It is upon this platform that researchers find they have both the capacity and organisational support to push their research forward in exciting ways.
According to Tim McInnis, the Institute's Head of Development, this platform includes all the labs with their incredibly sophisticated equipment; the research governance and clinical trials unit; the operations team that keeps the Institute humming along smoothly day to day; all of the Institute's computer hardware and software; and it includes a team that helps researchers spot competitive funding opportunities and submit grant applications.
"I like to think that it also includes the coffee machine," says Tim, "which dispenses free coffee as decreed by our director, Jonathan Carapetis. I'm sure it's fairly well established in all the leading scientific journals that coffee fuels research, and it certainly does here!"
Bioinformatics is another crucially important component of the research platform, with the Institute's bioinformaticians forming a research support unit accessible to all research teams at The Kids.
The Institute uses Bioinformatics to understand biology with computers. Specialists create computer programs in order to draw out specific sets of genetic data, then analyse how they relate to particular diseases. The McCusker Foundation Bioinformatics Centre was established at The Kids in 2012.
While The Kids is renowned for doing world-class scientific research, its experts can only continue their work with the help of other "non-science-y" experts in their respective fields all contributing to building and maintaining the research platform. And this includes donors.
Whether it's the McCusker Foundation supporting work in Bioinformatics, Lotterywest providing computer equipment, law firms like Kott Gunning and Allens Linklater advising on legal matters pro bono, or Price Waterhouse Coopers and KPMG also providing in-kind services - all are crucial to the Institute's continuing success in creating a research platform for its scientists.
A huge supporter of the Institute's research platform is BHP Billiton. In 2014, BHP Billiton joined The Kids as its "strategy enabling partner". In addition to supporting a program in Aboriginal child health in the Pilbara, for five years the company is committed to contributing $3 million a year to support a bold new Institute blueprint for making an ever-increasing difference in the community. This will include recruiting and retaining leading scientists, investing in new technologies, and translating research into practical outcomes through greater community involvement and collaboration with healthcare practitioners.
The Kids believes it is unlikely that we'll ever see just one medical genius being able to cure cancer or the myriad diseases that affect our children every day. Rather, progress will come from providing the right environments for teams of researchers to work successfully alongside each other, and to collaborate with thousands of researchers around the world. Progress will come from giving these researchers the platform they need to succeed.
The health and wellbeing of children is as dependent upon this platform as on the research activity itself.
Children's research relies on the ongoing support of people just like you. To see how you can directly help improve the lives of kids everywhere, visit Ways to Donate.