Search

Research

Acinetobacter baumannii is a common pathogen associated with hospital-acquired pneumonia showing increased resistance to carbapenem and colistin antibiotics nowadays. Infections with A. baumannii cause high patient fatalities due to their capability to evade current antimicrobial therapies, emphasizing the urgency of developing viable therapeutics to treat A. baumannii-associated pneumonia.

Research

Aboriginal children hospitalised with acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) are at-risk of developing bronchiectasis, which can progress from untreated protracted bacterial bronchitis, often evidenced by a chronic (>4 weeks) wet cough following discharge. We aimed to facilitate follow-up for Aboriginal children hospitalised with ALRIs to provide optimal management and improve their respiratory health outcomes.

Research

Ellis van Creveld syndrome and Weyers acrofacial dysostosis are two rare genetic diseases affecting skeletal development. They are both ciliopathies, as they are due to malfunction of primary cilia, microtubule-based plasma membrane protrusions that function as cellular antennae and are required for Hedgehog signaling, a key pathway during skeletal morphogenesis.

Research

Given the rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections, alternative treatments are needed. Anti-pseudomonal phage therapy shows promise, but its clinical application is limited due to the development of resistance and a lack of biofilm penetration. 

Research

The European Respiratory Society Oscillometry Taskforce identified that clinical correlates of bronchodilator responses are needed to advance oscillometry in clinical practice. The understanding of bronchodilator-induced oscillometry changes in preterm lung disease is poor. Here we describe a comparison of bronchodilator assessments performed using oscillometry and spirometry in a population born very preterm and explore the relationship between bronchodilator-induced changes in respiratory function and clinical outcomes.

Research

Pulmonary bacterial infections present a significant health risk to those with chronic respiratory diseases including cystic fibrosis and chronic-obstructive pulmonary disease. With the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, novel therapeutics are desperately needed to combat the emergence of resistant superbugs.

Research

Improvements in neonatal critical care have resulted in more people than ever reaching adulthood after being born prematurely. At the same time, it is becoming clearer that preterm birth can increase the risk of respiratory disease throughout a person’s lifetime. Awareness that a patient was born preterm can enable early specialist assessment and intervention when there is any concern about lung health. 

Research

Heart failure (HF) is the end stage of most cardiovascular diseases and remains a significant health problem globally. We aimed to assess whether patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤45% had alterations in both the gut microbiome profile and production of associated metabolites when compared to a healthy cohort.

Research

Macrophages are the major resident immune cells in human airways coordinating responses to infection and injury. In cystic fibrosis, neutrophils are recruited to the airways shortly after birth, and actively exocytose damaging enzymes prior to chronic infection, suggesting a potential defect in macrophage immunomodulatory function.

Research

Chronic wet cough in children is the hallmark symptom of protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB) and if left untreated can lead to bronchiectasis, which is prevalent in Indigenous populations. Underrecognition of chronic wet cough by parents and clinicians and underdiagnosis of PBB by clinicians are known.