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Alexander Anthony Deborah Emma Pat Larcombe Kicic Strickland de Jong Holt BScEnv (Hons) PhD BSc (Hons) PhD PhD PhD, DSc, FRCPath, FRCPI, FAA Honorary

Researchers developing a world-first treatment that targets an underlying cause of asthma have secured a $499,640 grant from the Future Health, Research and Innovation Fund – Innovation Seed Fund.

Children who live in the outer suburbs of Australia’s four biggest cities are twice as likely to have asthma as those living in inner city areas, according to a new study based on health data captured in the last Australian Census.

Two outstanding researchers from the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre have been awarded a 2022 Innovation Fellowship supported by the WA Government's Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund.

Flare-ups of asthma are usually brought on by respiratory infections, such as the common cold, and are one of the most common reasons for a child to miss school or require emergency care.

A new study has found a common asthma drug is effective for some very premature babies who go on to suffer from lung complications.

Despite advances in asthma therapeutics, the burden remains highest in preschool children; therefore, it is critical to identify primary care tools that distinguish preschool children at high risk for burdensome disease for further evaluation.

Lung transcriptomics studies in asthma have provided valuable information in the whole lung context, however, deciphering the individual contributions of the airway and parenchyma in disease pathogenesis may expedite the development of novel targeted treatment strategies. In this study, we performed transcriptomics on the airway and parenchyma using a house dust mite (HDM)-induced model of experimental asthma that replicates key features of the human disease.

Research question: Are asthma and allergies more common in adolescents conceived with assisted reproductive technologies (ART) compared with adolescents conceived without?

In asthma, a significant portion of the interaction between genetics and environment occurs through microbiota. The proposed mechanisms behind this interaction are complex and at times contradictory. This review covers recent developments in our understanding of this interaction: the "microbial hypothesis" and the "farm effect"; the role of endotoxin and genetic variation in pattern recognition systems; the interaction with allergen exposure; the additional involvement of host gut and airway microbiota; the role of viral respiratory infections in interaction with the 17q21 and CDHR3 genetic loci; and the importance of in utero and early-life timing of exposures.