Supported
by the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, the Award is
designed to provide training and development for early career researchers in
the Western Pacific Region who are investigating infectious diseases in
children.

Celestine’s
successful project is titled: ‘Prevalence
and aetiology of otitis media in Papua New Guinean (PNG) children attending
out-patient clinics in the Eastern Highlands’, and aims to determine the
true burden of ear infections amongst different age groups and the cause of
these infections.

Celestine
is currently working at the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin, and
her passion for research around otitis media stems from her own childhood
growing up in PNG.

“My
little brother had bilateral hearing loss as a consequence of recurring ear
infections as a baby, and this caused him to struggle with learning – my
parents would often ask to keep him seated at the front of the classroom so he
could hear the teacher,” said Celestine.

She
added that her family knew little about the effects of otitis media on hearing
as it was considered a normal part of growing up, and they did not have
education around ear health issues or awareness of audiology support services.

“As part
of my research, I hope to bring emphasis on the awareness of otitis media in
the community and in primary health care,” she said.

Celestine
will be formally announced as the winner of the Deborah Lehmann Research Award
winner at the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases sundowners’
event on 6 March, 2019.