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Research
Association between socioeconomic status and the development of asthma: analyses of income trajectoriesUsing data on 2868 children born in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study, we examined the association between changes in family...
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.
Research
ACE2 expression is elevated in airway epithelial cells from older and male healthy individuals but reduced in asthmaCOVID-19 is complicated by acute lung injury, and death in some individuals. It is caused by SARS-CoV-2 that requires the ACE2 receptor and serine proteases to enter AEC. We determined what factors are associated with ACE2 expression particularly in patients with asthma and COPD. We obtained lower AEC from 145 people from two independent cohorts, aged 2-89 years, Newcastle (n = 115) and Perth (n = 30), Australia. The Newcastle cohort was enriched with people with asthma (n = 37) and COPD (n = 38). Gene expression for ACE2 and other genes potentially associated with SARS-CoV-2 cell entry was assessed by qPCR, and protein expression was confirmed with immunohistochemistry on endobronchial biopsies and cultured AEC.
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Childhood vaccination and allergy: A systematic review and meta-analysisAs the rise in prevalence of allergic diseases worldwide corresponds in time with increasing infant vaccination, it has been hypothesized that childhood vaccination may increase the risk of allergic disease. We aimed to synthesize the literature on the association between childhood vaccination and allergy.
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Basophil counts in PBMC populations during childhood acute wheeze/asthma are associated with future exacerbationsOur findings suggest that the proportion of degranulated basophils can also be associated with recurrent exacerbations
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Insights into respiratory disease through bioinformaticsHere, we review the basic concepts in bioinformatics and genomic data analysis and illustrate the application of these tools to further our understanding of lung diseases
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Developmental regulation of type 1 and type 3 interferon production and risk for infant infections and asthma developmentType 1 and 3 interferon response capacity appears strongly developmentally constrained at birth
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Identifying pediatric lung disease: A comparison of forced oscillation technique outcomesThese findings suggest the utility of specific FOT outcomes is dependent on the respiratory disease being assessed
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Differential gene network analysis for the identification of asthma-associated therapeutic targets in allergen-specific T-helper memory responsesDifferential network analysis of allergen-induced CD4 T cell responses can unmask covert disease-associated genes and pin point novel therapeutic targets