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Phage WA Artificial Intelligence Team

Our team uses AI to quickly analyse large amounts of genetic data to help discover alternate medications and improve existing treatments.

Community Involvement

As part of our research development and planning we invite members of the community to work with us. Click here to find out how.

Contact Information

If you have any questions or would like more information about the Western Australian Epithelial Research Program (WAERP), please click here to access our contact details.

Healing airways so kids with asthma can breathe better

An exciting study is investigating whether a new therapeutic treatment for asthma will protect young sufferers from ongoing lung damage and improve their long-term health outcomes.

Carbon dioxide overload, detected in human blood, suggests a potentially toxic atmosphere within 50 years

Anthropogenic activities are increasing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. There is mounting experimental evidence that lifetime exposure to these increasing atmospheric CO2 levels can negatively impact the normal physiology of organisms. However, directly assessing this in humans is very difficult. 

Reduced Type-I Interferon by Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells and Asthma in School-Aged Children

Allergic sensitization and reduced ability to respond to viral infections may contribute to virus-induced wheeze and asthma development in young children. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) are rare immune cells that produce type I interferons (IFN-I) and play a key role in orchestrating immune responses against viruses. 

Lung structural and functional impairments in young children with cystic fibrosis diagnosed following newborn screening – A nationwide observational study

Non-invasive and sensitive clinical endpoints are needed to monitor onset and progression of early lung disease in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). We compared lung clearance index (LCI), FEV1, functional and structural lung magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes in Swiss children with CF diagnosed following newborn screening. 

Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand position statement: The safe clinical use of sputum induction for bio-sampling of the lower airways in children and adults

Sputum induction is widely used in clinical settings for collection of biological samples from the lower airways. However, in recent years sputum induction has been associated with serious adverse events and even death. This position statement was commissioned by the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand to address major adverse events of two deaths associated with sputum induction that have occurred in Australia in 2021, and outlines best practice for the safe use of sputum induction. 

Improving the Diagnosis and Treatment of Paediatric Bronchiectasis Through Research and Translation

Bronchiectasis, particularly in children, is an increasingly recognised yet neglected chronic lung disorder affecting individuals in both low-to-middle and high-income countries. It has a high disease burden and there is substantial inequity within and between settings. Furthermore, compared with other chronic lung diseases, considerably fewer resources are available for children with bronchiectasis. 

Insights into the associations between the gut microbiome, its metabolites and heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is the end stage of most cardiovascular diseases and remains a significant health problem globally. We aimed to assess whether patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤45% had alterations in both the gut microbiome profile and production of associated metabolites when compared to a healthy cohort.