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Esteemed Joondalup paediatrician and researcher announced as finalist for Western Australian of the Year

May 14, 2024

Joondalup Health Campus researcher and paediatrician Professor Desiree Silva has been named as a finalist for Western Australian of the Year in the Professions category in recognition of her pioneering work in childhood development research.

Prof Silva has dedicated her 35-year career to the health and wellbeing of children, predominantly at JHC where she has worked since 1998 and was appointed Inaugural Director of Research in 2022.

Prof Silva has also worked extensively in rural and remote areas serving as the rural paediatrician for the Pilbara from 1999 to 2018, and was involved in the PATCHES program, identifying and diagnosing Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the Kimberley.

The mother of three, has had an incredible impact on the lives of children she has treated across Western Australia. With a much larger goal in mind, she spearheads the $26 million ORIGINS project, a collaboration between JHC and Telethon Kids Institute, which she initiated, aiming to reduce the rising epidemic of non-communicable diseases through a ‘healthy start to life.’

“Every child deserves the chance to flourish and reach their full potential and with conditions such as ADHD, autism and anxiety on the rise the response needs to be two fold- we need to reduce the lifelong impacts on the children by ensuring timely access to services early in life and identify how these conditions can be prevented,” Prof Silva said.

“This nomination is incredibly humbling and I see it as a recognition of the wonderful work of the paediatric team and JHC and researchers at TKI, funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation and Australian Government, through the Channel 7 Telethon Trust, both of which have supported us all the way,” she said.

ORIGINS is a longitudinal birth cohort study, which involves the repeated collection of the same information/data from 10,000 participants over a long period of time, starting during pregnancy and continuing until the child turns five years old, and beyond. It is the largest study of its type in Australia.

“We have huge amounts of data which is being accessed by researchers all around the world for sub-projects and requires further analysis to find that last piece of the jigsaw puzzle and answer the question of what is causing the rise in a number of childhood conditions,” Prof Silva said.

“A lot of these health conditions we see today, their origins are pre-programmed early in life. If we want to see something actually change, we need to look at the root cause and it is likely that there are environmental factors causing a change in the genes of these children,” she said.

“First and foremost, my deepest wish is for every child to be healthy and thrive long into adulthood.  Preventing these conditions will also reduce the impact on parents, families, the health system, educational institutions and disability services, and the broader community,” she said.

“The missing piece of the jigsaw could surely be a game changer. Let’s make Western Australia the best place in the world to bring up your child!”

Winners of the categories and Western Australian of the Year will be announced on Thursday 30 May.