The ORIGINS Project is a collaboration between Telethon Kids Institute and Joondalup Health Campus. The longitudinal study is building a research platform to enable world-class investigations into when and why non-communicable diseases (NCDs) develop, through the study of early environments, maternal and paternal physical health, the microbiome and genetics.
As well as facilitating strategic long-term research capacity, ORIGINS is a pipeline for short-term productivity through a series of clinical trials, mechanistic studies, and targeted research questions.
The ORIGINS Project is a birth cohort study, designed to collect detailed information about how early environment influences the risk of a broad range of NCDs, including allergies, asthma, diabetes, and obesity and its many complications.
The ultimate goal of the project is to reduce the rising epidemic of chronic conditions through 'a healthy start to life'.
The ORIGINS Project team is recruiting women (and their partners) early in pregnancy and collecting data on their health, diet, physical activity patterns and a range of factors in their environment, as well as biological samples such as blood, hair, house dust, breastmilk and stool. The team will then assess how these early life exposures influence their child's growth, development and health (including neurodevelopment, evidence of allergies, infections, and other medical conditions).
Research shows that the development of many serious health conditions may occur as early as in the womb - or even earlier. So, what happens in pregnancy, or even our parents' health, can increase our risk of developing chronic health issues such as obesity, heart disease, allergies and poor mental health in later life.
The ORIGINS Project is integrated into the clinical and diagnostic services provided by the Joondalup Health Campus in Perth’s northern suburbs, giving clinicians (including midwives and laboratory staff) an opportunity to have research appointments in addition to clinical duties. This considerable collaboration brings a commitment to establishing a strong research focus in an existing infrastructure.
ORIGINS aims to create a complete databank of up to 10,000 families over the period of antenatal care to five years of age. This data will include bio samples, general health, education and other public data, and specific assessments and written data regarding patient symptoms, behaviours and their environment. This data will be obtained from patients at the Joondalup Health Campus Public and Private Hospitals, using their obstetric services.
Through strong partnerships with other national and international cohorts (eg the Raine study, GenV, Born in Bradford), the team is extending the knowledge frontier to explore the new and different challenges facing the generation of children today.
Collaboration and engagement are fundamental elements of The ORIGINS Project at every level. As such, ORIGINS seeks to engage researchers, clinicians, service providers, government and the wider community.
The ORIGINS Project
The ORIGINS Project
Team
ORIGINS Project projects
Reports and Findings
The Founder - Dispositional Greed, Showbiz, and the Commercial Determinants of Health
Marketing unhealthy products by multinational corporations has caused considerable harm to individual health, collective wellbeing, and environmental sustainability. This is a growing threat to all societies and a significant contributor to the rising global burden of non-communicable diseases and early mortality.
Published research ORIGINS“It helps and it doesn’t help”: maternal perspectives on how the use of smartphones and tablet computers influences parent-infant attachment
As families increase their use of mobile touch screen devices (smartphones and tablet computers), there is potential for this use to influence parent-child interactions required to form a secure attachment during infancy, and thus future child developmental outcomes. Thirty families of infants (aged 9-15 months) were interviewed to explore how parents and infants use these devices, and how device use influenced parents' thoughts, feelings and behaviours towards their infant and other family interactions.
Published research Human Capability ORIGINS Technology & KidsGene dysregulation in acute HIV-1 infection – early transcriptomic analysis reveals the crucial biological functions affected
Transcriptomic analyses from early human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have the potential to reveal how HIV causes widespread and lasting damage to biological functions, especially in the immune system. Previous studies have been limited by difficulties in obtaining early specimens.
Published research Academic Biostatistics Infectious Diseases ORIGINSVitality Revisited: The Evolving Concept of Flourishing and Its Relevance to Personal and Public Health
Human flourishing, the state of optimal functioning and well-being across all aspects of an individual's life, has been a topic of philosophical and theological discussion for centuries. In the mid-20th century, social psychologists and health scientists began exploring the concept of flourishing in the context of health and high-level wellness.
Published research Early Childhood Development ORIGINS Child and adolescent health