A leading autism scientist has relocated to Perth to take up a new appointment at The Kids Research Institute Australia, thanks to a program designed to attract world-class health researchers to Western Australia.
Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson today named Professor Mirko Uljarević as the newest Distinguished Fellow of the State Government’s Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund.
Professor Uljarević – who comes from Stanford University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences in California – will be based at The Kids Research Institute Australia and The University of Western Australia, joining the world-leading CliniKids team at The Kids.
His role at The Kids has been made possible thanks to the FHRI Fund and the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation.
Under the FHRI Fund’s Distinguished Fellows Program, outstanding and innovative world-class research leaders are supported by a combination of FHRI funding and matched support from the fellows’ host and partner organisations.
Professor Uljarević’s Fellowship aims to transform how autism — a neurodevelopmental condition affecting three per cent of Australians — is conceptualised, researched, and clinically supported.
He is a medically-trained researcher working at the intersection of clinical and big data science to improve outcomes for autistic individuals. His work at The Kids will focus on transforming the clinical pathway for autistic children using big data to improve outcomes.
This includes building a computerised adaptive assessment tool using data from 3500 children to map each autistic child’s unique strengths and needs, and match them with the most effective evidence-based clinical support — a personalised supports approach.
“Professor Uljarevic is a world-class researcher whose expertise will significantly advance autism care and understanding in Western Australia,” said Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson.
Professor Uljarević said despite considerable research efforts and substantial investment, the mechanisms underlying autism and predictors of support remained poorly understood.
“As a result, clinicians lack critical information to guide their decision-making, leaving families to navigate a costly and emotionally taxing trial and-error process that may entrench lifelong disability,” Professor Uljarević said.
“A paradigm shift is urgently overdue combining cutting-edge developmental science, community co-production, and human computer collaboration, to bring personalised supports to autism care.”
Professor Uljarević said there was no better place in the world to complete this ambitious program of research than in WA.
“Together with the world-leading research, clinical and policy track record of my collaborators at The Kids and their rich community partnerships with stakeholders, we will ensure timely delivery of the aims and tangible benefits for WA autistic children and their families as well as the WA research, clinical and policy landscape,” Professor Uljarević said.
“This work is all about making a meaningful difference in the daily lives of autistic kids and their families, helping them achieve their full potential.”
The Kids Research Institute Australia Executive Director Professor Jonathan Carapetis AM said Professor Uljarević’s personalised supports approach to autism care would add to the already world-class autism research happening at The Kids.
“We welcome Professor Uljarević to The Kids and know his innovative work will further position WA as a global leader in paediatric autism research, which will have immediate benefits for autistic children in WA and beyond,” Professor Carapetis said.
Professor Andrew Whitehouse (Deputy Director Research, Angela Wright Bennett Professor of Autism Research and CliniKids Director at The Kids) said Professor Uljarević’s appointment would bring unique access to large-scale datasets, expertise in clinical and big data science and a track record in the development of novel clinical assessments to WA.
“This bold research program will bring transformational change for WA, using a foundation of science to deliver a new approach that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical practice and quality of life for autistic children and their families,” Professor Whitehouse said.
For more on Minister Dawson’s Distinguished Fellows announcement, see the Minister’s media release.
First published Friday 27 March 2026.
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