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Advancing Innovation in Respiratory Health

The Advancing Innovation in Respiratory (AIR) Health Team is a multi-disciplinary group with skills in clinical medicine, physiology, psychology, and in cellular and molecular biology, that are committed to improving the lives of children with respiratory diseases and their families.

Research

Rhinovirus Infection Is Associated With Airway Epithelial Cell Necrosis and Inflammation via Interleukin-1 in Young Children With Cystic Fibrosis

This study found rhinovirus infection drives necrotic cell death in cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells

Research

Azithromycin Partially Mitigates Dysregulated Repair of Lung Allograft Small Airway Epithelium

Chronic airway injury and dysregulated repair programs are evident in airway epithelium obtained from patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome

Research

Assessment of different techniques for the administration of inhaled salbutamol in children breathing spontaneously via tracheal tubes, supraglottic airway devices, and

Perioperative respiratory adverse events account for a third of all perioperative cardiac arrests, with bronchospasm and laryngospasm being most common. Standard treatment for bronchospasm is administration of inhaled salbutamol, via pressurized metered dose inhaler. There is little evidence on the best method of attaching the pressurized metered dose inhaler to the artificial airway during general anesthesia. The aim of this study is to investigate the best method to deliver aerosolized salbutamol via pressurized metered dose inhaler to the lungs of an anesthetized child.

Research

A structure-function analysis of interspecies antagonism by the 2-heptyl-4-alkyl-quinolone signal molecule from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Here we show that antibacterial activity of 4-hydroxy-2-heptylquinoline against Vibrionaceae is species-specific

Research

Linking the westernised oropharyngeal microbiome to the immune response in Chinese immigrants

Human microbiota plays a fundamental role in modulating the immune response. Western environment and lifestyle are envisaged to alter the human microbiota with a new microbiome profile established in Chinese immigrants, which fails to prime the immune system. Here, we investigated how differences in composition of oropharyngeal microbiome may contribute to patterns of interaction between the microbiome and immune system in Chinese immigrants living in Australia.

Research

Prevalence of tracheobronchomalacia is higher than previously reported in children with cystic fibrosis

Tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) is estimated to be present in 1 in 2100 children. Previous reports suggest the prevalence is higher in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). This has clinical implications with potential to influence airway clearance and lung health.

Research

BEAT CF pulmonary exacerbations core protocol for evaluating the management of pulmonary exacerbations in people with cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare, inherited, life-limiting condition predominantly affecting the lungs, for which there is no cure. The disease is characterized by recurrent pulmonary exacerbations (PEx), which are thought to drive progressive lung damage. Management of these episodes is complex and generally involves multiple interventions targeting different aspects of disease. The emergence of innovative trials and use of Bayesian statistical methods has created renewed opportunities for studying heterogeneous populations in rare diseases.

Research

Sleep-disordered breathing in Australian children with Prader-Willi syndrome following initiation of growth hormone therapy

In children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), growth hormone (GH) improves height and body composition; however, may be associated with worsening sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Some studies have reported less SDB after GH initiation, but follow-up with polysomnography is still advised in most clinical guidelines.

Research

Standardised treatment and monitoring protocol to assess safety and tolerability of bacteriophage therapy for adult and paediatric patients (STAMP study): protocol for an open-label, single-arm trial

There has been renewed interest in the therapeutic use of bacteriophages (phages); however, standardised therapeutic protocols are lacking, and there is a paucity of rigorous clinical trial data assessing efficacy.