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The Respiratory Environmental Health team conducts research in early life determinants of lung growth and development, respiratory environmental health, and mechanisms of airway dysfunction in asthma and other respiratory disease.
The Foundations of Lung Disease Team is focused on improving the diagnosis, treatment, and lifelong care of childhood lung disease.
News & Events
NHMRC funding awarded to support child health researchThe Kids Research Institute Australia researchers have been awarded more than $10 million in research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
News & Events
Switch on the immune system earlyFindings by Professor Pat Holt revealed researchers had been heading down the wrong path in their battle strategy against respiratory allergy and asthma.
News & Events
Overseas trip will help unlock the asthma puzzleOne in ten Australians have asthma and Dr Kimberley Wang from The Kids Research Institute Australia is on a mission to find out what causes it.
News & Events
Asthma steroid without side effectsWestern Australia has joined a major international study that could significantly change the treatment of asthma in children.
Research
Stiffness Mediated-Mechanosensation of Airway Smooth Muscle Cells on Linear Stiffness Gradient HydrogelsIn obstructive airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein amount and composition of the airway smooth muscle (ASM) is often remodelled, likely altering tissue stiffness. The underlying mechanism of how human ASM cell (hASMC) mechanosenses the aberrant microenvironment is not well understood.
Research
LPS binding protein and activation signatures are upregulated during asthma exacerbations in childrenAsthma exacerbations in children are associated with respiratory viral infection and atopy, resulting in systemic immune activation and infiltration of immune cells into the airways. The gene networks driving the immune activation and subsequent migration of immune cells into the airways remains incompletely understood. Cellular and molecular profiling of PBMC was employed on paired samples obtained from atopic asthmatic children during acute virus-associated exacerbations and later during convalescence.
Research
Quantifying airway remodelling for research or clinical purposes: How should we normalize for airway size?Citation: Donovan GM, Wang KCW, Elliot JG, James AL, Noble PB. Quantifying airway remodelling for research or clinical purposes: How should we
Research
Airway smooth muscle thickness and contraction are enhanced by intra-amniotic lipopolysaccharide in an ovine model of premature birthAbnormalities of the airway smooth muscle (ASM) layer in asthma may develop before birth. We hypothesize that antenatal inflammation causes physiological abnormalities of the ASM that predisposes asthma. This study determined the short-term effects of antenatal inflammation on the developing ASM.