A world-first study tracking the health and wellbeing of Victorians, from birth to old age, has delivered a recruitment milestone of more than 22,000 babies since launching a year ago.
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s GenV, the world’s largest-ever birth and parent cohort studies, is celebrating its one-year anniversary of being available to families across Victoria. All up, almost 60,000 babies, mothers and fathers have joined the study, which is recruiting in every birthing hospital across the state.
The milestone was marked today at Werribee Mercy Hospital where State Medical Research Minister Jaala Pulford also announced a $685,000 grant for the GenV Maternal Vaccine Study. The study will examine data on pregnancy and infant vaccine safety outcomes in the first-year old life for 20,000 mothers and their babies.
GenV aims to better understand and treat the causes of modern childhood health problems such as obesity. asthma, autism, food allergies and mental illness.
Launching at Werribee Mercy Hospital in 2021, where more than 500 babies have since enrolled in GenV, was critical to the study’s success in Melbourne’s west and ensures that new and routinely collected data and blood and saliva samples reflect the diversity of Victorian families and positions GenV as a truly inclusive research project.
GenV’s recruitment team has recorded 65 languages (including Auslan) during the opt-in process. More than 4500 families in GenV do not primarily speak English at home.
The research potential of existing collected data and ongoing GenV sample collection is gaining local and international interest and recognition by external collaborators.
Families that sign up to GenV will make a difference to the future health of generations to come. Babies and their parents taking part in this once-in-a-generation research study can help to solve common child and adult health problems.
Every family with a newborn baby is invited to join over a two-year period from October 2021, no matter where they live or what language they speak. Participants can join the program in person during their hospital stay or any time after birth via a simple, guided online process.
Download full media release ( PDF, 169.5K )Last reviewed September 9, 2022.
