CHW Clinical School: Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health

Group Leader:
Prof Kathryn North
Associate Dean
Douglas Burrows Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health

Current program

The Clinical School is a department of the Faculty of Medicine of The University of Sydney and is located within The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. The Clinical School is responsible for over 300 students within the Graduate Medical Program, over 70 postgraduate students (research and coursework) and a large team of volunteer teachers, tutors and examiners comprising medical and allied health staff both within and external to the Hospital.

The Clinical School has 30 staff involved directly in teaching, education and research activities and has an operating budget of over $3M.

The Clinical School is a leader in medical education and medical education research and has a broad teaching, education and research role. Our activities include investigating evidence based methods of delivery of information to students and medical professionals, participating in the development of curriculum for medical students, coordinating the placements for elective students and junior medical staff, responsibility for the local management and coordination of postgraduate students and their supervisors, and the establishment of a successful Masters in Medicine (Paediatrics) course delivered online. The Clinical School offers clinical and research staff an opportunity to apply for conjoint and clinical titles and provides teaching and professional development opportunities.

The Clinical School operates in partnership with The Children’s Hospital at Westmead to set the direction of teaching and education for medical and allied health staff and is actively involved in the recruitment of high quality educators and researchers and their professional development (for example, the Clinical School is currently involved in the recruitment of two key positions within the Hospital - an Associate Director of Education and Learning and Manager of the Simulation Centre).

The Clinical School is also closely linked to the Hospital’s Research Office, in particular management of grants, scholarships and fellowships. The Clinical School, through Prof Kathryn North, participates in the overall strategic direction of research (Prof North is a member of the Research Executive and Research Committee and other academic staff attend laboratory and clinical research heads meetings).

A number of research areas of strength within the Hospital include translational research programs led by Clinical School Academic Staff. These include:

• Prof Kathryn North - Neurogenetics Research Unit/Institute for Neuromuscular Research
• Prof Louise Baur - Centre for Obesity and Overweight Research
• Prof Elizabeth Elliott - Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit
• A/Prof Cheryl Jones - Perinatal Infection Research
• A/Prof Andrew Holland - Children’s Hospital Burns Research Institute

The Clinical School has also recently recruited Dr Rachel Skinner (Academic Adolescent Medicine) and Dr Russell Dale (Neuroimmunology). Dr Patrina Caldwell heads the Medical Education Research group in a 0.4FTE capacity and is also a researcher with the Centre for Kidney Research (Prof Jonathan Craig) – refer to Attachment 1 for a list of current medical education research projects.

Dr Skinner relocated from the Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth (affiliated with the School of Paediatrics and Child Health, UWA). Dr Skinner is a highly-regarded clinician researcher whose experience and expertise in adolescent medicine will expand into a very productive research program (and will include national and international collaborations with researchers and industry). Dr Skinner was awarded a $500,000 NHMRC project grant in 2005.

Dr Russell Dale leads the Neuroinflammation Research Group and as a new group leader is being mentored by Prof Kathryn North within the Neurogenetics Research Unit. Dr Dale completed his PhD in 2006; however since 2000 he has generated over 40 publications. Dr Dale spent three years at the Institute of Neurology, Queen Square London, and his time spent there was predominantly in laboratory research. Dr Dale has been awarded grants in the UK, and since relocating to Australia was awarded a $195,000 grant from Brain Australia.

In addition, we are also very fortunate to have Dr Nigel Clarke returning to the Hospital on a CJ Martin Fellowship in October 2008. Dr Clarke is currently undertaking a post-doctorate in France supported by an NHMRC/INSERM Fellowship.

Major Achievements

Seven (7) NHMRC grants totalling a little over $4M were awarded in 2007 to researchers based at the Hospital – recipients included Prof Kathryn North ($460,000) and Dr Rachael Murray - Associate Investigator: A/Prof Andrew Holland ($416,000). Four (4) ARC grants (3 Discovery and 1 Linkage) totalling $1.3M were also awarded to researchers based at the Hospital and recipients included Prof Kathryn North ($357,000), A/Prof Cheryl Jones ($318,000) and Prof Elizabeth Elliott (co-investigator on $450,000 grant).

The number of conjoint appointments has more than doubled over the last four (4) years, from 16 to 52 current appointments, and all grants submitted by University affiliated staff and conjoints are administered through the University. These initiatives allow research activity undertaken at the Hospital to be captured by the University, which in turn results in the generation of additional revenue for the University, the Hospital and researchers. It has also resulted in a change in culture whereby an increasing number of clinicians are participating in research, teaching and education, and we have created a vibrant and productive environment that is attractive to new research groups. This will be greatly enhanced through an investment in expanding clinical trials capacity and a shared Hub building – initiatives involving the University and Clinical School, the Hospital and Westmead Research Hub partners.