Joondalup study boost to medical research industry

Joondalup will be the focus of a new health study to be led by 2005 WA Business News 40under40 winner Professor Lyle Palmer who hopes it will be a major boost to the Western Australian medical research industry.

The proposed WA Institute for Medical Research-run study in Joondalup hopes to collect a large amount of DNA samples to track the health of people in the area and is viewed as the next leap forward from the ground-breaking, 30-year-old study in Busselton which is used to support medical research around the world.

Prof Palmer is a genomics expert who has returned from lucrative work in the US to pursue the goal of maintaining WA's leadership in long-term health studies. He believes the business spin-offs will be huge if he succeeds, with big population studies helping both retain and attract medical research talent, as well as fuelling new spin-off business opportunities.

Full media release is below:

Members of the Joondalup community are to be invited to consider participating in a new Family Health Study being proposed by leading Western Australian medical researchers.

The proposed 'Joondalup Family Health Study' would be a long-term health study of families living in the Joondalup area. These kinds of studies have proven invaluable for medical research, enhancing the understanding of the causes, treatment and prevention of many common diseases such as cancer, heart disease, asthma, obesity and diabetes.

The concept follows consideration by a group of leading researchers and health professionals from the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR), The University of Western Australia (UWA), Lions Eye Institute (LEI), the Women's and Infant's Research Foundation, Edith Cowan University Joondalup Campus, and other academic, government and hospital partners. If the community agrees to participate, the study would be led by UWA Professor Lyle Palmer from WAIMR.

Professor Palmer said the concept had been endorsed by the Joondalup Health Campus, City of Joondalup Council, Australian Medical Association (WA Branch), Moore Federal MP, Dr Mal Washer, Joondalup MLA, Mr Tony O'Gorman, and the Health Department of WA.

"A successful WA example of such a study is the world-renowned Busselton Health Study. Since 1966, the Busselton Study has captured one community's health trends and highlighted ways in which people may improve their lifestyles and potentially decrease their risks of disease. The regular surveys and health interventions have been shown to result in improved health outcomes and lower death rates for the Busselton community," he said

Medical breakthroughs stemming from the Busselton Study include the discovery of two new asthma genes and the clarification of a genetic test for the blood disorder haemochromatosis, which causes iron overload. The Busselton Study has also provided important insights into the changing rates and natural history of a number of common diseases, including heart disease and cancer.

Professor Palmer said a Joondalup Family Health Study would be a contemporary, metropolitan version of the Busselton Health Study, with a focus on families.

"Consultation with the Joondalup community is the current top priority in order to determine the interest of families in taking part. Our detailed research over the past 18 months has shown that Joondalup is an ideal location. There is a strong sense of community among Joondalup residents, it has a large population, a high proportion of young families and access to well-established education and health facilities," he said.

Beginning today an extensive process of community engagement with residents, Government and other key stakeholders will be undertaken to assess whether the Joondalup community would support a Family Health Study. A random selection of 7,500 Joondalup residents will receive a mailed questionnaire and information sheet about the proposal.

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"An invitation to Joondalup residents to participate in a community forum at Arena Joondalup on December 10 will follow, along with detailed information about the proposed study. A key factor for success will be our ability to forge a strong and trusting partnership with the whole community, so we will be spending considerable time talking with Joondalup families to ensure they fully understand and support all aspects of it," Professor Palmer said.

"Side-by-side with our belief that the study will lead to research breakthroughs, new treatments and better understanding of the causes of common diseases, we are committed to community ownership of research resources and to engaging the community in a partnership for the public good."

The study will have a strong focus on families, and the health of both children and adults. All adults and children over six years of age who volunteer for the study will be asked to supply information about their lifestyle and diet, basic measurements like height and weight, undergo health checks including eye, heart and lung function and provide a blood sample. Further health surveys would likely take place every three years.

"Just as many people in Busselton have benefited from being part of that health study, we believe if Joondalup community members want to participate in this study, they could also be likely to experience better health outcomes for chronic conditions such as asthma and heart disease," Professor Palmer said.

The community engagement process will take at least six months. No decision about the future of the proposed project would be made until this is complete. If given the go-ahead, a Joondalup Family Health Study could begin in late 2006.

Professor Palmer said if a Family Health Study was successful, consideration could be given to extending to a larger scale study involving other communities in Western Australia and in the longer term possibly the whole state.

"By undertaking such a large and comprehensive community-based study of families, our findings will be of national and international importance," he said.

JOONDALUP COMMUNITY INVITED INTO KEY HEALTH STUDY

Members of the Joondalup community will be invited to consider being part of a major new Family Health Study being proposed by leading Western Australian researchers.

If it went ahead, the study would be known as the 'Joondalup Family Health Study' and would be a contemporary, metropolitan version of the highly successful Busselton Health Study, which has been ongoing since 1966.

Professor Lyle Palmer from the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research and The University of Western Australia will announce details of the proposed study this morning, Wednesday November 16, 2005 at Arena Joondalup. He will outline a program of community engagement and outreach to the Joondalup community that will take place over the next six months.

Nobel Prize winner Professor Barry Marshall, Australian of the Year Dr Fiona Wood, Dr Digby Cullen, Busselton Medical Research Foundation Board Member and son of the Busselton Health Study founder, and Director-General of Health Dr Neale Fong will attend today's event.
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