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News & Events

Researchers share in almost $1.8 million for groundbreaking child health respiratory research

Three researchers from the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre will share in almost $1.8 million in grants to continue groundbreaking research to tackle childhood asthma prevention and lung disease.

News & Events

Wal-yan Centre welcomes Professor André Schultz as new Head

In an exciting development for the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre, Professor André Schultz has been appointed as the Centre’s new Head, succeeding Professor Stephen Stick. 

Working with the community

Community involvement plays an integral role in guiding our research - find out how.

Current Studies

The Western Australian Epithelial Research Program (WAERP) biobank is undertaking a number of research projects intended to improve the understanding and preclinical assessment of therapeutics for respiratory conditions.

Western Australian Epithelial Research Program

The Western Australian Epithelial Research Program (WAERP) is a community cohort biobank that collects and stores airway cells from the upper (nose) and lower (trachea) airways of Western Australian children and adults (1-50 years of age) undergoing non respiratory elective surgery.

Research

Delayed airway epithelial repair is correlated with airway obstruction in young adults born very preterm

Nasal epithelial cells from young adults with a history of very preterm birth show delayed closure following scratch-wounding. Repair correlated with lung function, suggesting epithelial barrier integrity may play a role in preterm-associated lung disease.

Research

Global Lung Function Initiative reference values for multiple breath washout indices

Multiple breath washout is a lung function test based on tidal breathing that assesses lung volume and ventilation distribution. The aim of this analysis was to use the Global Lung Function Initiative methodology to develop all-age reference equations for the multiple breath washout indices lung clearance index and functional residual capacity.

Research

Bile acids in the lower airways is associated with airway microbiota changes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an observational study

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex disorder with a high degree of interindividual variability. Gastrointestinal dysfunction is common in patients with COPD and has been proposed to influence the clinical progression of the disease. Using the presence of bile acid(s) (BA) in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid as a marker of gastric aspiration, we evaluated the relationships between BAs, clinical outcomes and bacterial lung colonisation.

Research

Early nasal microbiota and subsequent respiratory tract infections in infants with cystic fibrosis

Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) drive lung function decline in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). While the respiratory microbiota is clearly associated with RTI pathogenesis in infants without CF, data on infants with CF is scarce. We compared nasal microbiota development between infants with CF and controls and assessed associations between early-life nasal microbiota, RTIs, and antibiotic treatment in infants with CF.