Search
Research
Impaired interferon response in plasmacytoid dendritic cells from children with persistent wheezeImpaired interferon response and allergic sensitization may contribute to virus-induced wheeze and asthma development in young children. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells play a key role in antiviral immunity as critical producers of type I interferons.
Research
The Health Outcomes and Health Service Needs of the Martu and Nyiyaparli People of Northwest Western Australia: A Grey Literature ReviewHealth outcomes for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples are very poor. This is considerably worse in remote regions. The East Pilbara, where the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of the Martu and Nyiyaparli people reside, is one such remote region.
Research
Rhinoviruses A and C elicit long-lasting antibody responses with limited cross-neutralizationRhinoviruses (RVs) can cause severe wheezing illnesses in young children and patients with asthma. Vaccine development has been hampered by the multitude of RV types with little information about cross-neutralization. We previously showed that neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses to RV-C are detected twofold to threefold more often than those to RV-A throughout childhood. Based on those findings, we hypothesized that RV-C infections are more likely to induce either cross-neutralizing or longer-lasting antibody responses compared with RV-A infections.
Research
Personal network inference unveils heterogeneous immune response patterns to viral infection in children with acute wheezingHuman rhinovirus (RV)-induced exacerbations of asthma and wheeze are a major cause of emergency room presentations and hospital admissions among children. Previous studies have shown that immune response patterns during these exacerbations are heterogeneous and are characterized by the presence or absence of robust interferon responses.
Research
Increased nasal Streptococcus pneumoniae presence in Western environment associated with allergic conditions in Chinese immigrantsChinese immigrants living in Australia experience increased allergic conditions: asthma, eczema, hay fever and wheeze. Recently we reported diminished innate cytokine responses in long-term immigrants, potentially increasing their pathogenic viral load and microbial carriage. We hypothesise that a Western environment changes the nasal microbiome profile, and this altered profile may be associated with the development of allergic conditions. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to examine the loading of viral and microbial respiratory pathogens in the upper airway.
The Children’s Respiratory Science group’s research has an emphasis on mechanisms of respiratory health in children including those that predict and underpin acute viral respiratory infections in children.
Research
Future Child HealthThe greatest threat to children’s health in the future is environmental change, including climate change. The Future Child Health project aims to quantify how current and future environmental changes affect child health.
Research
Mechanisms of Acute Viral Respiratory Illness in Children (MAVRIC)Large numbers of children need emergency medical treatment each year for respiratory illnesses, particularly for wheezing and asthma.
Research
What codes the development of asthma in children?An NHMRC grant exploring epigenetic factors that affect wheezing and asthma development.
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.