Generation Victoria (GenV)

Based at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), GenV is recruiting large, parallel whole-of-state cohorts of children born 2021-2023 and their parents for discovery and interventional research. GenV is designed to address physical, mental, and social issues experienced during childhood and midlife, as well as the antecedents of a wide range of diseases of ageing. It will generate translatable evidence—including prediction, prevention, treatments, and services—to improve future well-being and reduce future disease burden. GenV’s ‘building blocks’ comprise consent, biosamples, linkage to administrative and service/clinical data, GenV-collected data, a capability for integrated studies, and a platform designed to provide value to its consumers. Inclusivity and Open Science are core values.

Learn more about GenV at genv.org.au/for-researchers/

Study Summary
Study name Generation Victoria
Study abbreviation GenV
Current principal investigator/s Melissa Wake
Richard Saffery
Sharon Goldfeld
Natasha Zaritski
Current project manager

Vanda Tedesco: Program Manager
Tony Frugier: Bio Discovery Stream Lead
William Siero: Cohort 2020s Stream Lead
Libby Hughes: Deputy Cohort Stream Lead
Alisha Gulenc: Deputy Cohort Stream Lead
Naomi Schwarz: Solutions Hub Coordinating Lead and Team Lead (Policy & Equity)
Jatender Mohal: Solutions Hub Team Lead (Data)
Susan Clifford: Solutions Hub Team Lead (ePhenome)
Suzanne Long: Solutions Hub Team Lead (Integrated Studies)

Primary Institution/s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI
Collaborating Institution/s The Royal Children’s Hospital - RCH
The University of Melbourne, Department of Paediatrics - UoM
The Victorian Government - DHHS
Cross-sectoral coalition of partners – see https://genv.org.au/about-genv/supporters-and-partners/
Major funding source/s Paul Ramsay Foundation - PRF
Victorian State Government
The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation - RCHF
National Health and Medical Research Council - NHMRC
Medical Research Future Fund - MRFF
Study website https://genv.org.au/ https://www.mcri.edu.au/genv
Key reference for study
Study focus

GenV is conceptualised as very large birth and parent cohorts, open to all babies born in the state of Victoria over a two-year period and their parents. It will be multi-purpose, supporting observational, interventional, health services and policy research within the same cohort. It is designed to address physical and mental health and social issues experienced during childhood, as well as childhood and adult antecedents of health or disease during ageing. It seeks to generate translatable evidence (prediction, prevention, treatments, services) to improve future wellbeing and reduce the future disease burden of all children and adults.

Sampling frame

The GenV Cohort 2020s is open to all babies born over a two-year period, and their parents, residing in the state of Victoria Australia. The GenV Cohort 2020s is preceded by an Advance cohort of babies born between 5 Dec 2020 and 3 October 2021, and their parents. This comprises all families recruited at GenV's Vanguard hospital (Joan Kirner Women's and Children's) and at birthing hospitals throughout Victoria as GenV scaled up to commence recruiting for the GenV Cohort 2020s.

Primary study type Longitudinal cohort
Year commenced

2021

Is this study ongoing? Yes - the study is ongoing
Ongoing recruitment? Yes
Sample size (N)

Target: approximately 150,000 newborns and their parents

Survey data available? Yes
Imaging data available? No
Linkage to administrative dataset/s? Yes, linkage to (at least one) administrative dataset underway
Biosamples available? Yes
Are data available to others outside study team, with appropriate safeguards and structures in line with the cohort’s ethics and governance processes? Yes
Are there any costs associated with data/sample access for approved requests? There are usually no costs associated with access
Broadest type of participant consent available Unspecified consent (can be used for any future ethically approved research)

2023

Alanna N G, Richard S, Andrew J D, Gregory W, Bowon K, Melissa W, Anna C, Valerie S. (2023). Validating the ORACollect for the detection of cytomegalovirus International Journal of Clinical Virology, 7(1), 007 - 010. DOI: 10.29328/journal.ijcv.1001053

Wang J, Hu YJ, Collins L, Fedyukova A, Aggarwal V, Mensah F, Cheong JLY, Wake M, GenV Newborns Working Group . (2023). Study protocol: Generation Victoria (GenV) special care nursery registry. Int J Popul Data Sci, 8(1), 2139. DOI: 10.23889/ijpds.v8i1.2139

2022

Hu YJ, Fedyukova A, Wang J, Said JM, Thomas N, Noble E, Cheong JLY, Karanatsios B, Goldfeld S, Wake M. (2022). Improving Cohort-Hospital Matching Accuracy through Standardization and Validation of Participant Identifiable Information. Children (Basel), 9(12). DOI: 10.3390/children9121916

Musgrove E, Gasparini L, McBain K, Clifford SA, Carter SA, Teede H, Wake M. (2022). Synthesizing Core Outcome Sets for outcomes research in cohort studies: a systematic review. Pediatr Res, 92(4), 936 - 945. DOI: 10.1038/s41390-021-01801-2

2021

Hu YJ, Wake M, Clifford S, Said J. (2021). 1059Innovative epidemiological methods in a whole-of-state cohort of children and parents: Generation Victoria (GenV) International Journal of Epidemiology, 50(Supplement_1), dyab168.290-. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyab168.290

Nkyekyer J, Clifford SA, Mensah FK, Wang Y, Chiu L, Wake M. (2021). Maximizing Participant Engagement, Participation, and Retention in Cohort Studies Using Digital Methods: Rapid Review to Inform the Next Generation of Very Large Birth Cohorts. J Med Internet Res, 23(5), e23499. DOI: 10.2196/23499

Sung V, Williams K, Perlow E, Hu YJ, Ahern S, Said JM, Karanatsios B, Hopper JL, McNeil JJ, Donnan L, Goldfeld S, Wake M. (2021). Enhancing Value and Uptake for Whole-Population Cohorts of Children and Parents: Methods to Integrate Registries into the Generation Victoria Cohort. Children (Basel), 8(4). DOI: 10.3390/children8040285

Wang J, Hu YJ, Clifford S, Goldfeld S, Wake M. (2021). Selecting life course frameworks to guide and communicate large new cohort studies: Generation Victoria (GenV) case study. J Dev Orig Health Dis, 12(6), 829 - 848. DOI: 10.1017/S2040174420001245

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Nkyekyer J, Clifford SA, Mensah FK, Wang Y, Chiu L, Wake M. (). Maximizing Participant Engagement, Participation, and Retention in Cohort Studies Using Digital Methods: Rapid Review to Inform the Next Generation of Very Large Birth Cohorts (Preprint) . DOI: 10.2196/preprints.23499

Study Contacts
Principal investigator/s Melissa Wake
Richard Saffery
Sharon Goldfeld
Natasha Zaritski
Project manager

Vanda Tedesco: Program Manager
Tony Frugier: Bio Discovery Stream Lead
William Siero: Cohort 2020s Stream Lead
Libby Hughes: Deputy Cohort Stream Lead
Alisha Gulenc: Deputy Cohort Stream Lead
Naomi Schwarz: Solutions Hub Coordinating Lead and Team Lead (Policy & Equity)
Jatender Mohal: Solutions Hub Team Lead (Data)
Susan Clifford: Solutions Hub Team Lead (ePhenome)
Suzanne Long: Solutions Hub Team Lead (Integrated Studies)

Study Contact

Email: genv@mcri.edu.au
Address: Murdoch Children's Research Institute,
Royal Children’s Hospital
Flemington Road, Parkville
Victoria 3052 Australia

Interested in collaborating with the GenV team? Find out more here:
https://www.genv.org.au/for-researchers/enquire-about-collaborating-with-genv/
https://www.genv.org.au/for-researchers/current-genv-collaborations/