Investigating The Impact Of Ethnicity On Asthma: Determining Risk Factors, Modifiers, Clinical Phenotypes, And Differential Response To Treatment.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$125,396.00
Summary
Asthma is a common disease in Australia with significant burden on both patients and the public healthcare system. Patients from ethnic minorities have disproportionately worse outcomes and current treatment guidelines are based on research among Caucasian-based populations. My PhD will describe differences in clinical characteristics, outcomes and response to treatment between ethnic groups. The overall aim of my PhD is to develop highly effective asthma treatment for ethnic minorities.
Understanding The Pathogenesis, Phenotypic Variation And Risk Prediction Of Childhood Asthma Using Computational Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$122,714.00
Summary
Asthma is a common respiratory illness in Australia. It is important to be able to predict who gets asthma, because those who get early treatment tend to fare better. We plan to run complex tests on data collected from hundreds of Australian children. The collected data includes genetic variations, chest infections, and differences in immune responses. From this data we hope to achieve a better understanding of the driving forces behind asthma, and to make better predictions for those at risk.
Maternal Gut Microbiome During Pregnancy Influences Offspring Atopy And Asthma.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$46,622.00
Summary
Allergic diseases such as food allergy and asthma have increased significantly as our exposure to bacteria has reduced. Many studies have explored exposure to bacteria in early life but few have examined the maternal bacteria we are exposed to while we develop in the womb. New studies indicate that we are exposed to many different components of our mothers gut bacteria and this might change our developing immune system and determine whether or not we get diseases like food allergy and asthma.
Genetic And Environmental Factors And Early Lung Problems Can Be Related To Allergy And Poor Lung Development In Preschool Age Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$122,032.00
Summary
This important new collaboration between the Murdoch ChildrenÍs Research Institute and Barwon Health explores the impact of early lung development on longer term respiratory health. It utilises a newly validated, accurate and safe technique to measure lung function in young babies and children. Data on environmental factors and lung function will help us explore the risk factors for the development of allergy, asthma and lung infections in early life.
Evaluation Of The Associations Between Childhood Asthma Hospitalisations, Outdoor Fungal Spores And Environmental Effect Modifiers.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$141,558.00
Summary
Asthma is a major cause of childhood hospital admission, impairs quality of life, contributes to high financial burdens on families and health system and can lead to chronic lung problems. Little is known about the combined effects of outdoor fungi, air pollutants and viruses in causing asthma exacerbations. This research aims to investigate the role of outdoor fungi in child asthma hospitalisations and how their role links with respiratory viral infections and changes in air quality.
An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Asthma In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$36,174.00
Summary
It is important to understand whether physical activity can prevent asthma, or whether asthma prevents children from being physically active, as this will influence the decisions we make with regard to the management of both childhood asthma and childhood activity. This work uses data from two studies of Australian children to tease out which path is the most important path to target when trying to increase physical activity levels and improve the respiratory health of children and adolescents.
Environmental Risk Factors And Genetic Modifiers For Lung Health And Lung Function In A High Risk Cohort
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$95,348.00
Summary
Asthma is an important determinant of respiratory health and longevity. While early life exposures are thought to be important, the evidence linking them with asthma and lung function is inconclusive. There is a scarcity of longitudinal studies and few investigate genes and environment. This study will determine whether environmental exposures along with their relevant genetic modifiers are related to increased risk of asthma and impaired lung function in a high allergy risk birth cohort.
The Significance Of Aeroallergens In Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$117,331.00
Summary
Eosinophilic esophagitis is an allergic condition that causes difficulty swallowing food and chest discomfort.Current diagnostic methods are inaccurate, and treatments are not curative. This project aims to clarify the role of promising new diagnostic techniques and to delineate the significance of aeroallergens (e.g. pollens) with a view to improving the treatment of eosinophilc esophagitis in the future. It is possible that simply avoiding pollens or treating hayfever in the future may be all ....Eosinophilic esophagitis is an allergic condition that causes difficulty swallowing food and chest discomfort.Current diagnostic methods are inaccurate, and treatments are not curative. This project aims to clarify the role of promising new diagnostic techniques and to delineate the significance of aeroallergens (e.g. pollens) with a view to improving the treatment of eosinophilc esophagitis in the future. It is possible that simply avoiding pollens or treating hayfever in the future may be all that is required to manage this condition.Read moreRead less
Infant Risk Factors For Childhood Asthma And Academic Performance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$40,492.00
Summary
This research aims to determine whether factors affecting the foetus or the infant have long term consequences on health. The aspects of health I am focusing on are respiratory health- asthma and lung function, and cognitive performance. The perinatal and infant factors I am using in analysis are birth measures such as weight and length, breast feeding duration, and pro-longed supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids.
Non-invasive Methods Of Measuring Work Of Breathing In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$41,267.00
Summary
Sleep-disordered breathing such as obstructive sleep apnoea, is currently diagnosed if a child stops breathing more than once per hour. For children with asthma or cystic fibrosis, who may not stop breathing during the night, how hard their breathing muscles work can have a significant impact on their health. A non-invasive method of measuring respiratory effort, and incorporating this measurement into how sleep-disordered breathing is diagnosed, can revolutionize how sleep-disordered breathing ....Sleep-disordered breathing such as obstructive sleep apnoea, is currently diagnosed if a child stops breathing more than once per hour. For children with asthma or cystic fibrosis, who may not stop breathing during the night, how hard their breathing muscles work can have a significant impact on their health. A non-invasive method of measuring respiratory effort, and incorporating this measurement into how sleep-disordered breathing is diagnosed, can revolutionize how sleep-disordered breathing in children are managed world-wide.Read moreRead less