This winter has had it all – the seriously frosty cold snaps, the rain, the wind chill, the colds and flus.

But there’s a solution for it all – one that will make you feel good by helping kids in need and have you looking cool while keeping warm and toasty. It’s the Jeans for Genes shop, which supports the cutting-edge science Children’s Medical Research Institute in Westmead.

From cosy sweaters and beanies to keyrings and pens – you can stock up on your necessary items while funding research into kids’ genetic diseases.

Fundraising through our shop provides extra opportunity for scientists like Mark Graham and Nader Aryamanesh to continue researching rare diseases like Kabuki Syndrome, which results in immune deficiencies, cardiac and kidney problems and diminished muscle tone.

Both were involved in an exciting world-first study that found a low carbohydrate, high fat diet had a life-changing impact on children with the syndrome. They used multi-omic sequencing technologies to understand how diet changed gene expression. The medically-monitored ketogenic diet has already been shown to be effective in managing other neurological conditions such as epilepsy and with these findings, there are new possibilities for the emerging use of the ketogenic diet and ketones in other epigenetic and neurodevelopmental diseases.

“We used proteomics to determine whether the thousands of proteins, acting as molecular machines within blood cells, were functioning or malfunctioning in Kabuki disease patients. The bioinformaticians on the team took the large and complex proteome data and confirmed that gene expression was crucial and was improved by diet,” said Dr Graham.
But the team at CMRI know there are many other kids impacted by genetic diseases, so the need for research continues. One in 20 children are affected by a genetic condition, including cancer, which means that’s one in every classroom.

By purchasing from the Jeans for Genes shop, you can help our researchers find more cures for more children and get them out of doctor’s rooms or hospital and into the playground.

We use premium fabrics for that extra cosiness and everyone in our labs are wearing them. In fact, that’s Radek and Vicki - two of our researchers - in the above photo showcasing some of the products you can enjoy.

Sizes do tend to run large, so be sure to check out the sizing guide when ordering for detailed measurements to help you find the perfect fit. 

Shop today!

Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) is an award-winning state-of-the-art medical research organisation dedicated to researching the genes and proteins important for human development, health and disease. Affiliated with the University of Sydney, CMRI is supported in part by its key fundraiser Jeans for Genes® and the Luminesce Alliance and is located at Westmead, a major health and innovation precinct in Sydney, NSW, Australia.