“With COVID, there's been this renewed focus on the importance of medical research...With more funding and with philanthropic partners, I'm really optimistic about the further impact that we can make on that global scale.” - Sarah Murdoch, of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute

When Dame Elizabeth Murdoch founded the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) in 1986, she wanted to create an organization dedicated to making discoveries to prevent and treat childhood conditions. Today, MCRI is Australia’s top pediatric health research institute and among the top three worldwide for research quality and impact, with more than 1,200 investigators in 35 countries.

“We've got our eye on the long-term impacts of COVID,” MCRI Director Kathryn North tells Mike on the podcast. “We have quite a lot of previous data on the well-being, the health, and the mental health of children and families in our community. But we've now been able to continue to liaise with those families, to look at the direct effects of COVID and then look out into the future.”

This Podcast Features

Sarah Murdoch
Co-Chair, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)

Kathryn North
Director, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI); David Danks Professor of Child Health Research, University of Melbourne

Hamish Graham
Pediatrician and Senior Research Fellow, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI); University of Melbourne; Royal Children’s Hospital