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Message from our Scientific Director

Welcome to our spring GenV News, showing some of the work behind the scenes – like how we choose GenV and Me survey questions.

Time flies – even for our GenV kids! The youngest turns one next month. But our door is always open. Children born between October 2021 and October 2023 can join at any time. Since we stopped visiting families in hospitals, we've welcomed another 3,500 families online. Thank you for spreading the word.

Building something big, like the MCG - Melbourne Cricket Ground, takes time. The same goes for GenV. In the beginning, our team was in 58 maternity hospitals across Victoria. This year, we’re working on building GenV’s value while keeping things simple for you. We are linking to data that already exist, setting up important systems, and creating tools that researchers will use in the future.

Now that GenV is up and running, we’re also asking our partners to imagine what GenV can do for today’s big challenges. Mental health, cancer, heart and lung health, development, hearing… What will our ‘programs of impact’ be over the next ten years?

With best wishes,
Professor Melissa Wake - GenV Scientific Director

Learning from birth experiences

GenV will soon connect to birth records from hospitals across Victoria. This includes details like types of birth, length of stay, any problems, and services used. Researchers can then study how they affect later health.

Stool is cool!

These babies are now toddlers! We will post another Stool Collection Kit as these children turn 2 (from October 2024). If you are one of these families, we hope you’ll agree to another sample. Researchers can then look at gut health over time. We can see how microbes change in early childhood, and how this affects health and development.

Look out for the kit in the mail around your child’s second birthday. Happy collecting!

GenV and Me: What you told us...

The youngest GenV babies are nearly one! Our 3- and 6-month surveys have closed, and the 9-month survey will close soon.  

Thank you to every family who has completed GenV and Me surveys. You’ve shared so much with us – things that are going well and things that are challenging. For example:

Did you know? The Victorian Government is running an Inquiry into Women’s Pain. In July, GenV answered the call, highlighting the issue for Victorian parents and babies. We hope this helps lead to better treatments and access to care. 

Missed a survey? That’s okay, you can always complete the next survey! Each survey you complete helps us – even if you have missed any.

Celebrating you!

Some babies are born with rare conditions that aren’t obvious at once. Testing every baby early helps them get the care they need faster. You might remember the heel prick blood spot test your baby had soon after they were born. It checks for some important conditions, but not all.

Working with GenV, EpiGNs is trialling a new method for more newborn conditions using the same blood spot. This won’t help your child but could help many others in the future.

In your GenV and Me surveys, we ask about your child’s health and health conditions. Your answers help assess how much EpiGNs could help families if it was part of regular care. With your help, we can predict, prevent, and treat earlier.

GenV promised that, if you took part, it would help other children and parents. Jatender and his team are a vital stepping stone to our goal.

Help us shape GenV

Join our Participant Advisory Panel here!
Have questions or feedback? Changed your contact details? Please reach out to the GenV team at: