The Clinical Utility Of Small Airway Function Tests In Paediatric Respiratory Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$64,631.00
Summary
Respiratory disease is an important child health issue with long term implications into adulthood. The evaluation of small airways involvement in disease processes, using an accurate sensitive measures of function, such as forced oscillation technique and multiple breath washout, potentially facilitates not only early detection of disease, but instigation of earlier treatment, better assessment of response to treatment, and ultimately better outcome.
Central Aortic Blood Pressure In Children: Establishing A Gold Standard Non-invasive Assessment Of Cardiovascular Risk
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$694,342.00
Summary
The best way of assessing early risk of cardiovascular disease involves measuring blood pressure near the heart (central pressure), but existing devices used in adults for this purpose are inaccurate in children. We will develop a children-specific method and apply it to study early cardiovascular risk in a comprehensive health study of 2000 children Australia-wide. We will also investigate why children with congenital heart disease frequently develop ‘older-adult’ heart disease at a young age.
Centre For Clinical Research Excellence In Respiratory And Sleep Medicine
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,200,000.00
Summary
The CCRE will enhance Australia's international research reputation in clinical respiratory and sleep medicine by enhancing links between hospital-based investigators. This will foster development of new clinical researchers in these fields. Major research projects will include reducing side effects of asthma therapy in the elderly, better and cheaper ways of diagnosing disorders such as sleep apnoea and blood clots in the lung, keeping patients with chronic lung diseases out of hospital and avo ....The CCRE will enhance Australia's international research reputation in clinical respiratory and sleep medicine by enhancing links between hospital-based investigators. This will foster development of new clinical researchers in these fields. Major research projects will include reducing side effects of asthma therapy in the elderly, better and cheaper ways of diagnosing disorders such as sleep apnoea and blood clots in the lung, keeping patients with chronic lung diseases out of hospital and avoiding accidents due to lack of sleep.Read moreRead less
Implementing Evidence Into Practice To Improve Chronic Lung Disease Management In Indigenous Australians: The Breathe Easy, Walk Easy-Lungs For Life (BE WELL) Project
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$780,089.00
Summary
The burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Indigenous Australians far exceeds that in non-Indigenous Australians. The project will evaluate whether the BE WELL program can build the capacity of Aboriginal health workers to provide affordable and effective management of COPD, including pulmonary rehabilitation. This program will improve health outcomes, reduce hospital admissions and address the poor access to best-practice management of COPD in Indigenous communities.
A Randomised Controlled Trial Of Interventional Versus Conservative Treatment Of Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$412,315.00
Summary
Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is a collapsed lung that occurs in otherwise healthy people without underlying lung disease. Current standard treatment is to insert a chest drain into the chest to remove the air around the collapsed lung so that the lung re-inflates rapidly ("interventional treatment"). We will determine whether doing nothing, i.e. letting the lung re-inflate slowly on its own over several weeks ("conservative treatment"), is just as good or even better for patients.
Translating Respiratory And Environmental Epidemiology Into Improved Lung Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$319,714.00
Summary
Chronic respiratory disease, tuberculosis and the effects of air pollution are important health problems globally. Evaluating current approaches to dealing with these problems and developing new approaches requires good data. Over the next five years I will lead a number of studies addressing these issues, in Australia and internationally, in order to provided the strongest possible evidence to underpin policy.
Lung disease is a major cause of death and disability world-wide. Tuberculosis was responsible for 1.4 million deaths in 2011. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been high priority diseases in Australia for many years. It was estimated that there were over 3 million deaths attributable to particulate air pollution in 2010. In this Fellowship I will undertake a series of projects designed to improve our understanding of these diseases and their causes.
How Do Thick Airway Walls Affect Airway Hyperresponsiveness In Asthma?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$382,538.00
Summary
Asthmatic airways narrow too easily, a characteristic called airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). To understand the cause of asthma we need to understand the cause of AHR. Thickened airway walls could amplify airway narrowing and increase AHR. However, thick airway walls are also stiff, and stiff walls could reduce narrowing and AHR. This project will examine the relationships between AHR and airway wall thickness and stiffness during and after treatment that reduces airway wall thickness.
Glucocorticoid Resistance In Paediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,721.00
Summary
Glucocorticoids are among the most effective drugs used in the treatment of many haematological malignancies, including leukaemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. However, the development of tumour cell resistance to these drugs remains a significant problem, and clinically relevant mechanisms of glucocorticoid resistance remain poorly understood. This project aims to define mechanisms of resistance to glucocorticoids and develop new drugs to reverse resistance.
We will conduct a survey of respiratory symptoms, lung function, smoking status, occupational exposures, and other risk factors among 3200 people aged 40 years and over living in five Australian communities: Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania, Busselton (WA), and the Kimberley region (WA). In the Kimberley we will survey 400 Aboriginal people and 400 non-Aboriginal people. We will use a survey methodology that has been developed by an international expert panel and has been implemented in many other co ....We will conduct a survey of respiratory symptoms, lung function, smoking status, occupational exposures, and other risk factors among 3200 people aged 40 years and over living in five Australian communities: Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania, Busselton (WA), and the Kimberley region (WA). In the Kimberley we will survey 400 Aboriginal people and 400 non-Aboriginal people. We will use a survey methodology that has been developed by an international expert panel and has been implemented in many other countries (in North and South America, Asia, and Europe). This study will provide the first nationally-representative information on the burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the opportunities for health gain by improving the management of this illness. In Australia, COPD is a relatively silent and under-recognised disease but nevertheless is the third most important contributor to the burden of disease and the third leading cause of hospital admission as well as being the underlying cause of 4.2% of all deaths. The information we will collect is needed to form a basis for prevention and disease management interventions to reduce the burden of COPD, particularly among population sub-groups who are disproportionately affected, either due to greater exposure to risk factors (mainly tobacco smoking and occupation), greater susceptibility, under-recognition and under-diagnosis, or inadequate disease management. Importantly, the study will serve to raise awareness about the hazards of smoking for all Australians. By identifying target groups, prevalent exposures and management deficiencies, it will lead the way towards policy-relevant randomised controlled trials testing community-based interventions to prevent COPD and-or manage it more effectively. The information collected will help advance knowledge of the prevalence, burden and treatment of COPD that will be relevant to communities throughout the world.Read moreRead less