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No role for neutrophil elastase in influenza-induced cellular recruitment, cytokine production or airway hyperresponsiveness in mice

Previous studies have suggested that in vitro modulation of neutrophil chemokines and inflammatory cytokines by neutrophil elastase (NE) does not translate to t

Directing immune development to curb sky-rocketing disease

Once upon a time it was infectious diseases like polio, measles or tuberculosis that most worried parents. With these threats now largely under control, parents face a new challenge – sky-rocketing rates of non-infectious diseases such as asthma, allergies and autism.

Australian researchers join international project to curb unhealthy lifetime trajectories

Australian researchers join global effort to better understand how events during pregnancy and childhood influence the development of disease later in life.

Azithromycin inhibits mucin secretion, mucous metaplasia, airway inflammation, and airways hyperresponsiveness in mice exposed to house dust mite extract

Excessive production, secretion, and retention of abnormal mucus is a pathological feature of many obstructive airways diseases including asthma. Azithromycin is an antibiotic that also possesses immunomodulatory and mucoregulatory activities, which may contribute to the clinical effectiveness of azithromycin in asthma.

Respiratory Environmental Health

The Respiratory Environmental Health team conducts research in early life determinants of lung growth and development, respiratory environmental health, and mechanisms of airway dysfunction in asthma and other respiratory disease.

In Vitro primary human airway epithelial whole exhaust exposure

The method outlined in this article is a customization of the whole exhaust exposure method generated by Mullins et al. (2016) using reprogrammed primary human airway epithelial cells as described by Martinovich et al. (2017). It has been used successfully to generate recently published data (Landwehr et al. 2021). The goal was to generate an exhaust exposure model where exhaust is collected from a modern engine, real-world exhaust concentrations are used and relevant tissues exposed to assess the effects of multiple biodiesel exposures.

Chemical analysis of new and “aged” e-liquids: Development of a rapid toxicological screening approach

Alexander Larcombe BScEnv (Hons) PhD Honorary Research Fellow Honorary Research Fellow Associate Professor Alexander Larcombe began work at The Kids

Computational fluid-particle dynamic and pharmacokinetic assessment of electronic cigarette aerosols for improved understanding of their potential to impact health

This project will use computational methods to assess the deposition of e-cigarette aerosols in the lungs, and the distribution of chemicals within e-cigarette aerosols throughout the body.

Dr Katherine Landwehr

Research Officer & PhD

The respiratory health effects of acute in vivo diesel and biodiesel exhaust in a mouse model

Biodiesel, a renewable diesel fuel that can be created from almost any natural fat or oil, is promoted as a greener and healthier alternative to commercial mineral diesel without the supporting experimental data to back these claims. The aim of this research was to assess the health effects of acute exposure to two types of biodiesel exhaust, or mineral diesel exhaust or air as a control in mice.