Perinatal and Early Life Exposures team

The Perinatal and Early Life Exposures team is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of children, families, and communities through collaborative, community-led research and innovation. We work alongside families, community organisations, health services, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders to understand how experiences and exposures during pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood shape lifelong health, development, and wellbeing. 

Our approach combines evidence generation with meaningful engagement, co-design, and implementation. We partner with communities and services to build local capacity, increase awareness, strengthen systems of care, and develop sustainable, culturally responsive solutions that address community priorities and improve outcomes across the life course. 

Through interdisciplinary research and strong partnerships, we translate evidence into practice by informing clinical care, service delivery, public health initiatives, policy development, and national guidelines. Our goal is to ensure that children and families have equitable access to the supports and environments they need to thrive, while reducing the long-term burden of chronic disease, developmental challenges, and mental health concerns. 

Our program aims to: 

• Partner with Communities and Services: Collaborate with families, communities, service providers, and policymakers to identify priorities, co-design solutions, and drive meaningful, sustainable change. 
• Understand Early Life Influences on Health and Development: Investigate how environmental, nutritional, substance-related, social, cultural, and psychosocial factors during pregnancy and early childhood influence health, wellbeing, and developmental outcomes across the lifespan. 
• Build Capacity and Awareness: Strengthen workforce capability, community knowledge, and service capacity through education, training, engagement, and knowledge translation activities. 
• Develop and Evaluate Sustainable Models of Care: Co-create, implement, and evaluate innovative and culturally responsive models of care that improve access, equity, and outcomes for children and families. 
• Improve Early Identification and Intervention: Support the development and implementation of effective approaches for the early assessment, identification, and management of developmental, behavioural, and neurodevelopmental concerns. 
• Translate Evidence into Policy and Practice: Generate robust evidence to inform best-practice recommendations, clinical guidelines, public health strategies, and policies that promote healthy beginnings and lifelong wellbeing. 
• Advance Equity and Long-Term Impact: Work to reduce health disparities, strengthen community resilience, and create lasting intergenerational benefits for children, families, and communities.