Registration closed - Advanced and Basic course full.

QCPRRC are pleased to announce we will be hosting the General Movements Trust accredited training course in Brisbane in June 2012. Both the Basic and Advanced Prechtl's Method of Qualitative Assessment of General Movements courses will be offered, and will coincide with ICNA and AusACPDM annual meetings. Read more.

At the recent American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine members of the QCPRRC were honoured to receive the prestigious Gayle Arnold Award for the best full paper from the preceding year's conference.  Associate Professor Roslyn Boyd accepted the prize on behalf of her co-authors from the University of Queensland and the Brain Research Institute. The winning paper on the neuroscience outcomes from the NHMRC funded INCITE trial provides important evidence for neuroplasticity in response to intensive upper limb rehabilitation. Roslyn commented, "It is especially exciting to receive this award for this work where for the first time we have confirmed that certain types of neurorehabilitation can change the brain!" The team has won this award for the second year running and are the first Australians to do so. In presenting the award Dr Al Schere acknowledged the significant contribution to this year’s Academy program by the QCPRRC team. Read more on the papers presented...

Dr Leanne Sakzewski took out the prize in 2010 for her paper related to the INCITE trial, titled "Retention of Outcome at 6 and 12 Months in an RCT of Constraint Induced Movement Therapy versus Bimanual Training for Children with Congenital Hemiplegia". Read more...

The 6th Biennial Scientific Conference of the Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AusACPDM) will take place in Brisbane in May-June 2012. The theme for this year is "New Horizons" with an emphasis on emerging technologies and approaches. It promises to be a jam-packed program with the opportunity to join forces with the 12th International Child Neurology Association (ICNA) Congress. Read more about the AusACPDM and ICNA meetings.

 Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine

Leanne Sakzewski, PhD scholar from the School of Medicine, University of Queensland was one of three invited to present a prestigious PhD platform address at the recent AusACPDM meeting in Christchurch.  The PhD platforms provide the opportunity to give a more comprehensive overview of the entire PhD research to all delegates attending the conference.   Her presentation was titled: “INCITE: A randomised trial of novel upper limb rehabilitation for children with congenital hemiplegia.”  Associate Professor Roslyn Boyd was awarded “best paper” at the conference, for the paper titled “Pathogenesis of congenital hemiplegia: relationship between brain structure and upper limb function” which she presented on behalf of Dr Stephen Burke.   

Research Award for Triple P

Congratulations to our postdoctoral research fellow Dr Koa Whittingham who received a Triple P Early Career Research Award at the Helping Families Change Conference in February 2010. The Early Career Research Award is given annually to an early career researcher who has contributed significantly to the evidence base of the Positive Parenting Program Triple P. Koa Whittingham received the award both for her PhD research validating Stepping Stones Triple P for parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and for her current research at the QCPRRC validating Stepping Stones Triple P for parents of children with Cerebral Palsy and assisting in the development and validation of a parenting intervention for parents of infants born very preterm, Prem Triple P.

$1m incubator to improve outcomes for Brain Impaired Newborns

Paediatricans Professor Paul Colditz and Associate Professor Roslyn Boyd are even more excited than usual about their latest delivery - Australia's first MRI compatible incubator designed for babies.

The $1million unit will assist in the development of earlier and more effective treatments for newborns with brain impairment. It was purchased in a funding partnership with the Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital (RBWH), the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) and the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation. The portable unit will be used for clinical diagnosis in both hospitals and for research at the Perinatal Research Centre (Prof Colditz) and the Queensland Cerebral Palsy Research Centre (Assoc Prof Boyd).

Paul, who heads the Perinatal Research Centre at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research, said the incubator had the potential to break down the current boundaries of brain impairment treatment and produce huge gains for babies and their families.

His research group will be the first in Australia able to conduct imaging of preterm babies.  Until now, imaging premature babies' brains has not been standard practice due to the shortcomings of adult equipment and the risks to these extremely vulnerable patients - despite a significant incidence of impairment. 

The incubator slides into a standard MRI unit. This enables babies to lie undisturbed in a safe and warm environment while a non-invasive image of the brain is recorded. A safe magnetic field is used to create the images.

Paul said the new equipment would be used by doctors for early diagnosis of impairment and enable research into prevention, as well as earlier and improved rehabilitation treatments.

Key members of the research team, headed by Prof Colditz, are Dr Stephen Rose, UQCCR and Centre for Advanced Imaging, UQ; Associate Professor Roslyn Boyd, Director, Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre, School of Medicine, RCH and UQ; Prof David Reutens, Director, Centre for Advanced Imaging, UQ. The larger research team necessary to develop better treatments for brain injury in babies include Professors David Pow, Alan Coulthard, Nicholas Fisk and Drs Kathryn Buller, Tracey Bjorkman, Mostefa Mesbah and John O'Toole.

Media Release Online

May 2009 New Study -  Longtitudinal Growth,
Nutrition & Physical activity in Cerebral Palsy 

We have recently commenced a new study funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council to investigate the influence of diet, physical activity, growth and body composition on health outcomes, participation and quality of life in young children with cerebral palsy, aged from 18 months to 5 years.

This study is being conducted in conjunction with the Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, the School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland and the Kluge Children’s Rehabilitation Center and Research Institute, University of Virgina. The Chief Investigators of this study are A/Prof Peter Davies, A/Prof Roslyn Boyd, Dr Kristie Bell, Dr Sean Tweedy and Ms Kelly Weir. If you would like to find out more about the study please contact Dr Kristie Bell, paediatric dietitian & Study Coordinator on (07) 3636 5542 or email kristie_bell@health.qld.gov.au.