Resolving inflammation in childhood respiratory disease

Summary This project, funded by the NHMRC and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, will apply a multi-omic approach to define the immune response in the upper and lower airway, as well as the peripheral blood, in children with chronic pulmonary diseases. Using cutting edge technology and clinically relevant patient sample from globally important paediatric cohorts, this project has a strong pathway to translation with the ultimate goal of informing strategies to improve clinical care and respiratory health throughout life. The project would suit a clinician or a scientist with an interest in immunology, bioinformatics, or pulmonary development.

Project Details

We are seeking an enthusiastic PhD candidate to join our multidisciplinary team of researchers and pediatricians working collaboratively across MCRI, The Royal Children's Hospital, and the UoM Department of Paediatrics to understand pathological inflammation in childhood respiratory disease.    Early life inflammation is a hallmark of common childhood lung diseases, including cystic fibrosis, preschool wheeze and asthma, and acute lower respiratory tract infections. These childhood lung diseases cause significant morbidity in children, often involve pathological remodelling of the airway epithelium, and can inhibit pulmonary development leading to lung impairment in adult life. Despite this, the inflammatory landscape of the paediatric respiratory system remains largely uncharacterised, and as a result, the mechanisms of highly prevalent childhood respiratory diseases remain poorly understood and treatment options are limited.     

This project, funded by the NHMRC and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, will apply a multi-omic approach to define the immune response in the upper and lower airway, as well as the peripheral blood, in children with chronic pulmonary diseases. Using cutting edge technology and clinically relevant patient sample from globally important paediatric cohorts, this project has a strong pathway to translation with the ultimate goal of informing strategies to improve clinical care and respiratory health throughout life. The project would suit a clinician or a scientist with an interest in immunology, bioinformatics, or pulmonary development.