Hudson News Summer 2022

3 November 2022

By Rob Clancy, staff writer

Director’s message: A time to celebrate

This is the time of year when we look back at what we have achieved and acknowledge the people who helped us make it happen. We also look ahead to the promise of our current and future research, perhaps allowing ourselves to dream a little of what could be possible.

Director's message, Professor Elizabeth Hartland, for Hudson News Summer 2022 — *Hudson Institute Director and CEO, Professor Elizabeth Hartland*

Hudson News infants’ health

In this festive issue of Hudson News Summer 2022, we are proud to officially launch our Infants’ Health Appeal, which will raise funds for our critical paediatric health research and bring hope for families who need it most.

Families like the Lindners, who found themselves in a situation every parent dreads, when their daughter Jessica contracted brain cancer and died at age 13.

As you will read, they chose to turn their grief into hope, and through their generosity our cancer researchers will soon have another weapon in their arsenal to fight this disease.

You will also read about the clinical trials that are now under way under the leadership of Professor Suzanne Miller, which are providing real hope to parents of very premature babies – it is precisely this type of research that your donations allow us to continue.

The flip-side and big strides

The flip-side is that our mid-career researchers who are doing amazing work are spending too much of their valuable research time applying for scarce funding opportunities.

The less we have to rely on grants and time writing them, the more time we can spend on discovery science and translating those discoveries into treatments.

I trust you’ll enjoy reading more about the research connected to our Infants’ Health Appeal, including our feature story on Baby Max and his mother Susana’s brave decision to sign him up for a clinical trial for preterm babies, and also spotlights the continued progress for preterm babies in the Nolds’ lab.

On our website you’ll also read even more about treatments like the 3D printed mesh being developed by our pelvic organ prolapse team, made from a woman’s own cells and designed to work with her body, not against it.

Or the big strides we’re making in male infertility, opening the door for treatments that could restore men’s fertility after it has been damaged by chemotherapy.

And there’s our RNA work, which brings us closer every day to creating a whole new class of anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as technology to make vaccines both more effective and cheaper to manufacture.

These are just a few examples of the work we are proud and determined to advance, which you can stay up-to-date with by subscribing to our mailing list.

For those who generously donated to our Women’s Health Appeal earlier in the year, thank you for your amazing support.

We hope you are inspired to give generously to our Infants’ Health Appeal, enabling our scientists to solve the biggest health challenges facing our smallest and youngest patients.

So again, I thank you, I wish you well for the festive season and beyond and look forward to bringing you more stories of hope and achievement in the coming year.

Professor Elizabeth Hartland
Director and CEO