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As part of our research development and planning we invite members of the community to work with us. Click here to find out how.
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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.
Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, but the effects of early life exposure to acute, high-intensity pollution on later lung function remain poorly understood. We assessed the association between prenatal or infant exposure to fire-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from a six-week coal mine fire and subsequent lung function.
Water chlorination is essential for controlling harmful microbes in drinking water; however, the antimicrobial effects of chlorine-based disinfectants present in tap water may influence early-life gut microbial ecology.
Respiratory disease is a leading cause of hospitalisations in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Over 40% of individuals with CP are born preterm; however, the relationship between prematurity, CP and respiratory disease is unknown.
To better characterise prematurity-associated lung disease, adult spirometry phenotype classifications (obstructive lung disease, preserved ratio impaired spirometry and dysanapsis) have been applied to children born preterm. It is unknown how these phenotypes track over time.
Bacteriophage (phage) propagation has traditionally relied on bacterial culture media containing animal-derived ingredients; however, safety concerns with animal-derived materials for production of phages for therapeutic use limit their acceptability. We compared animal-free and traditional media formulations, and evaluated effects on phage yield, bactericidal activity, and genomic characteristics, hypothesizing no significant differences would be observed.
Previous research has shown that immune development during the first week of life, i.e. ontogeny, is progressive, consistent and robust, involving large numbers of differentially expressed genes at each sampled time point.
Anthony Kicic BSc (Hons) PhD Head, Airway Epithelial Research; WA Cystic Fibrosis Research Collaborative Program Fellowship; Stan Perron Charitable