Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre (QCPRRC) was established to improve health outcomes for children with cerebral palsy and acquired brain injury.
Our excellence in research has been made possible through our funders and our strong links to clinical services at the Queensland Children's Hospital. The Centre was established in August 2007 as a joint initiative of the state-wide Queensland Paediatric Rehabilitation Service (QPRS) at Children’s Health Queensland and The University of Queensland's Faculty of Medicine.
QCPRRC has eight key research themes reflecting the significant areas of need for investigation in infants, children, adolescents and adults with Cerebral Palsy, Acquired Brain Injury or Traumatic Brain Injury.
Our Mission
Our mission is to lead research, innovation and education to advance the health of children with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury and related disabilities, supporting them and their families across their lifespan.
The QCPRRC aims to conduct bench to bedside, and community research, into the aetiology, neural mechanisms, management and outcomes of children with these disabilities.
Our core values are to provide excellence in research leadership, innovation of existing and new interventions, clinical translation to improve outcomes for families, and training the next generation of health professionals.
Strong links to clinical services
As a service within the Department of Paediatric Rehabilitation at the Queensland Children's Hospital, our Centre is the first of its kind in Queensland to be directly linked to tertiary health services. QCPRRC is organisationally linked with QPRS and sits within the Faculty of Medicine, Child Health Research Centre at The University of Queensland.
The outcomes of our research provide an evidence-base for clinical services offered by the hospital through the Queensland Paediatric Rehabilitation Service and the Queensland Children's Motion Analysis Service.
Our funders
Our funders help us to achieve our vision, and we are grateful for their support.
QCPRRC has core infrastructure funding provided by The University of Queensland, and the Merchant Charitable Foundation through the Children's Hospital Foundation. Our track record for innovative and groundbreaking research has earned us a national and international standing within the field of cerebral palsy and rehabilitation research and we have had extensive research success with funding bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Queensland Smart State Fellowship Scheme, the Australian Research Council and National Institutes of Health, United States.
Facilities
In CCHR there is a fully equipped Queensland Children's Motion Analysis Service. The Centre also has essential equipment for muscle mechanics studies, and through collaborations with the School of Human Movement Science at UQ there is access to another motion analysis laboratory, a neuromechanics laboratory and technical support staff for equipment development. The QCPRRC team has access to DEXA bone density scanning, a naturalistic observation room, wet and dry clinical assessment rooms and parking by arrangement for our study participants.
QCPRRC also has linkages to facilities including: (i) Australian E-Health Research Centre at CSIRO; (ii) access to 3x3T MRI’s at the Herston Imaging Research Facility (HIRF); and (iii) early markers of brain injury (high density EEG as clinical biomarkers of CP and to measure neuroplasticity in response to intervention) at UQ Perinatal Research Centre.