CliniKids is excited to welcome Dr Kandice Varcin to the team as part of a new partnership between Telethon Kids Institute and Griffith University.
Dr Varcin, based at Griffith in Queensland, joins Associate Professor David Trembath as part of the partnership to grow autism research in Australia.
Before joining Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Dr Varcin was a Research Fellow at Telethon Kids Institute in Professor Andrew Whitehouse’s team during the development and establishment of CliniKids.
At Griffith, she works with Associate Professor Trembath on policy-relevant applied research projects that aim to better support autistic children and their families in accessing therapies and supports.
“My research interests and expertise are in early development and autism, a field I was introduced to almost a decade ago during my postdoctoral position at Harvard University,” Dr Varcin, a registered psychologist said.
Dr Varcin said she was excited to (re)join the CliniKids team.
“While I have maintained ongoing collaborations with Professor Whitehouse and the CliniKids team, it is really exciting to be joining the team again in a more formal capacity to continue our work together,” she said.
“We have a unique opportunity through this partnership to share resources, knowledge, and skills across our institutions to really make headway in progressing projects that are relevant to the autistic and autism communities and that bridge the research to practice gap.
“This partnership provides a genuine and real opportunity for us to translate research knowledge into clinical applications that have real-world impact for autistic children and their families.”
CliniKids Director Professor Andrew Whitehouse, the Angela Wright Bennett Professor of Autism Research at Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia, said he was thrilled Dr Varcin had returned to the CliniKids team.
“We are so fortunate to once again share her talents as we forge this new partnership,” he said.
