Working hand in hand to improve infant health and development

Please join us for the Healthy Development Adelaide (HDA) and Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation forum on Working hand in hand to improve infant health and development.

The Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation (WCH Foundation) partners to create healthier futures for children and their families under the care of the Women’s and Children’s Health Network. This joint forum will highlight some of the research and programs being supported by the WCH Foundation which are working to improve infant health and development.

OUR SPEAKERS

Verity Gobbett, CEO, WCH Foundation

Introduction to the WCH Foundation

Verity commenced as CEO in January 2025, bringing a wealth of experience from her role as the WCH Foundation’s Head of Mission, where she led the execution of quality programs. She holds an honours degree in Education and a Master of Business Administration and is deeply passionate about creating healthier futures for children and their families. With a decade of experience leading teams and driving transformational change for greater social impact, she brings expertise in relationship management and strategic acumen. Verity is recognised as a values-based leader, with a career that spans health, child development, education, and charity sectors.

A/Professor Jaqueline Gould, Program lead of Supportive Neurodevelopment at SAHMRI Women and Kids

Omega-3 DHA to support the neurodevelopment of very preterm infants

We have shown it is possible to provide infants born >3 months early with the dose of DHA they would get in the womb, and that this results in a mean improvement in IQ of 3.5 points. We are now working to develop evidence-based guidelines to translate this finding into practice.

A/Professor Gould’s background in psychology and public health has contributed to her passion for supporting early brain development to give all children the best start to life. Combining a curiosity about the brain, the ethos is prevention is the best cure, and the concept that food can be your medicine, Jacqui specialises in the effect of nutrition during pregnancy and infancy (especially for infants born too soon) on brain development. She leads MRFF, NHMRC, and industry funded randomised controlled trials of nutrition in the first 1,000 days and subsequent child development. After showing that the omega-3 fat DHA is important for the cognitive development of infants born around 3 months early, she is now working on a series of projects funded by the WCH Foundation to translate this finding into clinical practice.

Jill Newman, Arts in Health Manager, WCH Foundation

Music for Wellness

Arts engagement supporting families in an acute tertiary care site can naturally and collaboratively align alongside clinical care to contribute to a holistic model of care that improves the health of infants, children and adolescents. The Arts in Health program offers a range of arts services delivered in the Neonatal Intensive Care and Special Care Baby Units to support the growth and development of pre-term infants.

Jill Newman has been working in the Arts for over 28 years and has extensive experience in managing and delivering art-based projects across Australia. For the past 16 years Jill has provided expertise in the field of 'arts in health' including establishing the WCH Foundation’s Arts in Health (AIH) program delivered within the Women’s and Children’s Health Network. The AIH program creates an interactive and vibrant hospital environment and makes a meaningful difference for patients and their families at every stage of their healthcare experience. The AIH program offers innovative approaches to promote wellbeing and positive health outcomes through visual arts, dance, music, literature, and creative therapies. Jill is recognised as a Paediatric Specialist Leader in Arts in Health and sits on the Australasian Health Infrastructure Alliance Arts Subgroup, supporting the capability of the public health sector by providing facility design guidelines based on evidence, industry and consumer collaboration.

Professor David Lynn, SAHMRI and Flinders University

The impact of antibiotics on infant vaccine immune responses and how we may be able to mitigate these deleterious effects

Early-life antibiotic exposure impairs vaccine-specific antibody responses, likely due to disruptions in the gut microbiota. A clinical study conducted by Prof Lynn’s and Prof. Helen Marshall's teams found that infants given antibiotics had lower antibody titres and reduced beneficial bacteria at vaccination, while animal models showed probiotics improved vaccine responses. These findings suggest microbiota-targeted interventions may enhance immunity in antibiotic-treated infants. A WCH Foundation supported randomised controlled trial is now testing whether probiotics can restore optimal vaccine responses in infants affected by early life antibiotic exposure.

Professor Lynn is Head of Strategic Partnerships and Professor of Systems Immunology at Flinders University Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI); a Program Director in the Precision Medicine Theme at South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI); and Scientific Director of the SA Genomics Centre (SAGC), a national genomics facility supported via the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). He leads an internationally regarded research program in systems immunology investigating how microbes (pathogenic and commensal) influence our immune system in a range of contexts from immunisation to cancer immunotherapy.

Dr Malithi Hauser, Consultant Paediatrician and medical lead of the Cocoon Program, Women’s and Children’s Hospital  & Charlotte Watson, Social Worker, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Women’s and Children’s Health Network

The WCH Foundation Cocoon Program

The Cocoon Program, which launched in 2023 in partnership with the WCH Foundation, is a comprehensive medical, developmental, and psychosocial health clinic. The Cocoon Program’s vision is to provide collaborative multi-disciplinary, evidence-informed, culturally appropriate, coordinated outpatient care to vulnerable infants and their caregivers.

Dr Malithi Hauser is a General Paediatrician and the medical lead of the Cocoon Program at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She has completed a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University and a Graduate Certificate of Autism Diagnosis. She has clinical interests in behavioural and developmental Paediatrics.

Charlotte studied a Bachelor of Social Work at Charles Sturt University (NSW) and Graduate Diploma in Mental Health at Uni SA, and has a background in state child protection, with a particular interest in early intervention using therapeutic frameworks and evidence-based approaches to practice. Currently working within WCHN Child Protection Services (CPS) as the Allied Health Co lead and Clinical Coordinator of the Cocoon Program, a pilot program providing a trauma responsive, multidisciplinary service to infants who are both medically and socially vulnerable.

OUR CHAIR

Dr Chelsea Mauch, Head of Programs & Impact, WCH Foundation

Dr Chelsea Mauch is a dedicated health professional, researcher, and program leader with a passion for improving health outcomes in children and families. Following 15 years in paediatric nutrition research, she started at the WCH Foundation in 2022 as Research Program Manager, leading the development of the Bloom Research Program which committed nearly $10 million in its first 2 years toward paediatric and maternal research. As Head of Programs & Impact she now oversees the delivery and evaluation of the WCH Foundation’s impactful programs, from health and medical research to Arts in Health and the Laklinyeri Beach House. She is committed to facilitating collaboration, innovation, and strategic growth in healthcare initiatives.

Other event information:

Networking and light refreshments will follow the session from 7.00pm.

This is a public forum and also open to the community, everyone is welcome to attend.