Support Early to Mid-Career Researchers

Illuminate PitchFest will shine a light on the next generation of world-class researchers.

Ten trailblazing researchers selected from the Institute’s internal academic panel will pitch their research projects in the hopes of being awarded an Illuminate Award. From the problem solvers to the life changers, the outside-the-box thinkers and future game changers – these child health researchers are pushing the limits.

The ten finalists for the PitchFest will be announced in January.

For more information about the upcoming Illuminate PitchFest event and to register, please visit this link.

Illuminate is a philanthropic initiative - shining a light on child health research to help all kids lead happy, healthy lives.

At Telethon Kids our greatest asset is our people. We are strongly invested in the future of child medical research welcoming, nurturing, and encouraging the best and most innovative Australian and international researchers. However, our best and brightest researchers face an increasingly competitive environment in securing research funding. This means substantial delays in research and even career insecurity, particularly for early and mid-career researchers.

Philanthropic support of next generation researchers is needed now more than ever to ensure we retain and best support WA’s brightest minds.

Illuminate connects researchers and supporters together – making connections between people who have a shared vision of happy, healthy kids.

Talented early to mid-career child health researchers are supported via generous gifts through Illuminate with awards starting from $25,000 per annum.

A dedicated Telethon Kids Institute Philanthropy team member will assist to ensure you are connected to an area of research that is aligned with your interests and motivations.

Thank you for your interest in Illuminate. Together, we can make a difference to children’s lives.

We invite you to make a difference.

You can contribute to this vital work by investing in early to mid-career child health researchers.

For your generous support of the Telethon Kids’ Illuminate initiative you will receive:

• choice of an early to mid-career researcher to support (pending availability)
• invitation to the annual Illuminate Awards event, where researcher recipients and supporters are announced
• invitation to Telethon Kids for a bespoke lab tour to see the research you are supporting in action
• recognition of your funding on our Telethon Kids website
• a certificate recognising your support of Illuminate and the researcher you fund
• acknowledgement in our annual Impact Report
• a Telethon Kids tax receipt for your donation

By funding an up-and-coming researcher, you will help to attract and retain the most promising researchers from Australia and overseas.

With your help, our young researchers are supported as they continue to find new ways to innovate clinical care, discover new treatments and prevent childhood diseases.

Ensuring researchers can focus on nothing but research means future generations will benefit from the latest medical knowledge and world-class treatments as our researchers continue to discover, prevent and cure

We greatly value your support.

People like you who are passionate about medical research can support our best and brightest researchers through the Illuminate Awards.

In September 2021, the Institute’s Development Advisory Network (DAN), a volunteer committee supporting the Institute’s fundraising goals, hosted the inaugural Illuminate Dinner, a fundraising event designed to shine light on the child health research happening at Telethon Kids Institute.

Through this event, the Illuminate Awards were born.

Now through an annual event, these awards connect our community of supporters directly with award recipients, to build connections with our researchers and provide an insight into the impact of child health research in Western Australia.

Our community of supporters get to be a part of the life course of a researcher's career, are kept up to date with the latest Institute achievements and see the amazing impact of the critical research support they provide.