The Melbourne Children’s Trials Centre

The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) already conducts many high quality clinical trials and with a dedicated centre on campus, better co-ordination and an improved facility, the RCH is performing more clinical trials, more often. Some of these trials include screening, early treatment and new important therapeutics or improved clinical management and medical procedure.

Thanks to the Good Friday Appeal, the Melbourne Children’s Trial Centre (MCTC) has been able to increase the capacity to support clinical trials across The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), also known as the Melbourne Children’s Campus. This is helping to drive healthcare innovation and support sick children all across the hospital.  

Importantly, the centre has also helped support and oversee close to 400 clinical trials across last year alone. Professor Andrew Davidson, the Medical Director of the MCTC, knows first-hand the impact this program has had campus wide. 

Professor Andrew Davidson

“The MCTC ensures that we have the best environment to support and perform trials across campus. This ensures that our trials are more powerful and efficient,” said Andrew.  

The MCTC supports all types of trials, including commercially sponsored trials which aim to test the success of a new drug or medical device. Since the MCTC began, the centre has helped support over 250 of these types of trials, helping change countless lives.  

Andrew was especially proud to share the recent impact this type of trial has had on a three-year-old boy living with a rare metabolic condition called phenylketonuria. This condition typically requires a lifelong restrictive diet, as a sudden increase in protein can risk neurological impairment and intellectual disability.  

Fortunately, however, the toddler was able to participate in a clinical trial at the RCH, leading to a breakthrough in his treatment. This allowed the sick child to enjoy something many take for granted – his first birthday cake.  

“Often these rare diseases have no treatment option other than a clinical trial – and most of the time, these trials are lifesaving, and it completely changes the child and family’s life,” Andrew explained.  

The MCTC also supports investigator initiative trials. These trials respond to academic or clinician research questions, helping change the way that children are cared for globally.  

“With investigator initiative trials, we want to continue to be at the forefront of innovative ways of doing them. We’re already very successful as a campus and we want to continue to be very successful,” Andrew said.  

With over 100 investigator initiative trials running at any time, the MCTC is helping promote the advancement of medical knowledge, all while changing the lives of young people.  

Looking forward, the MCTC aims to further advance paediatric healthcare innovation on both a regional, national and global scale.  

“This funding has allowed us to work more closely with the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Monash Children’s Hospital and the Queensland Children’s Hospital. This has been particularly important for rare diseases, where we needed a national approach to trials,” Andrew shared.  

The MCTC is revolutionising healthcare for children and young people across the world. Thanks to the Good Friday Appeal, the centre will be able to further establish themselves as leaders in enabling efficiency and high-quality paediatric trials.  

“The Good Friday Appeal’s support is helping provide an environment so that children at the RCH and sometimes around Australia can get access to whatever treatments they need that can completely change their lives,”

Professor Andrew Davidson, the Medical Director of the Melbourne Children’s Trials Centre

“The MCTC makes a huge difference to children all over,” Andrew concluded.

Example Trials

Positive end-expiratory pressure levels during resuscitation of preterm infants at birth (POLAR) trial

Almost all premature babies receive help with their breathing using a treatment called positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). The device used can give air and oxygen to the lungs between each breath to stop their lungs from collapsing.  

Currently, due to a lack of evidence, doctors around the world give different amounts of PEEP to premature babies. 

The POLAR trial explores the right amount of PEEP to give at birth. 

Last updated March 2025

Our Newsletter

Everything Good Friday Appeal, straight to your inbox. Get more information about your impact and how to get involved.

The RCH Childhood Stroke Program

Bailey spent 11 days in intensive care and the family was referred to The Royal Children’s Hospital’s Childhood Stroke Program where Dr Mark Mackay “made everything less daunting”.

Belinda said Dr Mackay “explained things in a way that made us more relaxed and gave us hope”.

As the twins approach their second birthday it is mainly physical differences that mark their development. Bailey has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy which affects his walking and some movement on one side of his body. He also has some vision problems.

Although Bailey does need constant extra supervision, nothing stops the rough and tumble of daily toddler life for the twins. And the family’s on-going association with the Childhood Stroke Program provides peace of mind with help and advice whenever issues rise.

Mum, Natalie Reynolds, with Bailey, and dad, Tim Clarkson with the Beau.

The program is an international leader in childhood stroke care and research. Dr Mackay said it is the third largest contributor of data to the International Stroke Study Group’s registry that involves 88 centres worldwide. The RCH is the only Australian paediatric institution that meets all National Stroke Foundation criteria for a comprehensive stroke centre.

“We know (from feedback) that we are having a direct and positive impact on the families we see, but through our research we are also having a huge impact internationally,” Dr Mackay said. “This research translates into helping many other people too.”

Funded by the Good Friday Appeal, the program was set up in 2004 by Dr Mackay, a paediatric neurologist. In 2011, also due to the support of the appeal, the nation’s only Stroke Nurse Coordinator, Belinda Stojanovski, was employed.

The pair work seamlessly together to improve the outcomes for children affected by stroke, providing medical, practical and emotional support for the young patients and their families.

“When families are referred to our clinic Mark gives them all the technical information then I step in to try to answer their questions and provide the support they need to deal with the different hospital departments and link them into rehab,” Belinda said. “We are really the link between the families and the hospital.”

In 2012 the Childhood Stroke Program had 13 referrals but that had increased significantly to 41 in 2016. There are about 400 families on the program’s registry.

The program also aims to improve care by educating medical, nursing and allied health professionals in best practices; and to improve awareness of childhood stroke in the community.

Paediatric stroke facts:

  • Stroke is among the top 10 causes of death in childhood with the highest mortality in the first 12 months of life
  • Stroke affects one in 2300-5000 newborns
  • The cause of stroke in newborns is usually unknown
  • Every year about two children in every 100,000 will have a stroke
  • 50-85% of survivors of stroke will be left with long term problems which may include seizures, physical disability, speech or learning difficulties

Last updated February 2024.

Photos: Jay Town

Our Newsletter

Everything Good Friday Appeal, straight to your inbox. Get more information about your impact and how to get involved.

Supporting Patients with Intellectual Disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder

Eventually these patients must make the transition from hospital care to adult healthcare and thanks to Good Friday Appeal support, the hospital is developing an appropriate and sustainable model of care for this transition.

This will provide a supportive framework, ensure timely transition from The Royal Children’s Hospital, and improve patient and family outcomes in partnership with external healthcare providers across Victoria.

Posted June 2017

Our Newsletter

Everything Good Friday Appeal, straight to your inbox. Get more information about your impact and how to get involved.

Digital Command Centre

Thanks to the Good Friday Appeal, The Royal Children’s Hospital is establishing its first Digital Command Centre, a purpose built dedicated workspace fitted out with state of the art audio visual equipment to deliver big data to The Royal Children’s Hospital teams 24/7.

By aggregating data including emergency surgery workloads and state-wide intensive care capacity, the Digital Command Centre will unleash the potential of the Electronic Medical Record in providing data to inform decision making to improve efficiency, productivity and timely access to clinical care.

Posted June 2017

Our Newsletter

Everything Good Friday Appeal, straight to your inbox. Get more information about your impact and how to get involved.