Investigating the actions of anti-inflammatory pathways in chronic lung disease. There is an urgent need to develop better drugs for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as patients become resistant to currently used anti-inflammatory drugs with disease progression. This research will uncover fundamental biology into an important class of anti-inflammatory receptor termed ALX/FPR2. This receptor normally coordinates the clearance of infection and injured tissue and subsequently switches ....Investigating the actions of anti-inflammatory pathways in chronic lung disease. There is an urgent need to develop better drugs for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as patients become resistant to currently used anti-inflammatory drugs with disease progression. This research will uncover fundamental biology into an important class of anti-inflammatory receptor termed ALX/FPR2. This receptor normally coordinates the clearance of infection and injured tissue and subsequently switches off inflammation. Essential knowledge into why this receptor pathway fails to switch off inflammation will be determined. Furthermore, the development of targeting strategies to this receptor represents an innovative approach to blocking damaging and chronic airway inflammation.Read moreRead less
Toll Like Receptor signalling as a mediator of sex differences in pain, opioid and alcohol action. Brain immunology will be examined in this project to see if the signalling of a receptor called Toll Like Receptor 4 can explain sex differences in pain, and the action of pain killers and alcohol. These findings will have significant implications on the understanding of male and female brains, and will assist in the design of new drugs to treat brain and spinal cord diseases.