WellChild Capital Projects

WellChild Research Centre (Birmingham)

Lead researcher: Professor Ian Booth, Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Duration: 2005 - 2010

Synopsis: Children die every day from childhood diseases. All parents dread the prospect of their child in pain and suffering. Doctors believe that certain genetic and environmental factors such as a child’s diet, pollution and their lifestyle can activate the development of disease in that child. Genetic epidemiology studies the role of genetic factors in the cause of disease in large populations. 

The WellChild Research Centre based at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital will be a major resource of clinical data and biological materials that will provide a basis for developing long term research projects.   To begin with, data will be collected on children with specific diseases including cancers, diabetes, endocrine disease, inflammatory disorders, heart disease and genetic conditions.

This research centre will provide unrivalled opportunities to advance research into the causes and treatments of illness and disability in children.