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Ingrid Pat Laing Holt BSc PhD PhD, DSc, FRCPath, FRCPI, FAA Head, Children's Respiratory Science Emeritus Honorary Researcher 6319 1828 Ingrid.laing@
Human rhinovirus (RV)-induced exacerbations of asthma and wheeze are a major cause of emergency room presentations and hospital admissions among children. Previous studies have shown that immune response patterns during these exacerbations are heterogeneous and are characterized by the presence or absence of robust interferon responses.
Sensitive measures of early lung disease are being integrated into therapeutic trials and clinical practice in cystic fibrosis (CF). The impact of early disease surveillance (EDS) using these novel and often intensive techniques on young children and their families is not well researched.
To investigate feasibility of aquatic high intensity interval training for adolescents with cerebral palsy, who can ambulate independently but may choose a mobility aid in some circumstances.
These findings suggest that genetic variants at the VDR locus may play a role in acute wheeze/asthma severity in children
Impaired interferon response and allergic sensitization may contribute to virus-induced wheeze and asthma development in young children. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells play a key role in antiviral immunity as critical producers of type I interferons.
The Children’s Respiratory Science group’s research has an emphasis on mechanisms of respiratory health in children including those that predict and underpin acute viral respiratory infections in children.
An NHMRC grant exploring epigenetic factors that affect wheezing and asthma development.
Wheezing and asthma exacerbations are leading causes of pediatric hospital admissions. Predicting which children will experience persistent exacerbations remains challenging. Prior research has identified immune endotypes in the nasal epithelium of children with acute asthma and wheezing, characterized by varying balances of interferons and inflammatory markers. Notably, children exhibiting low interferon responses coupled with high inflammation are at an increased risk for recurrent respiratory exacerbations.
Asthma exacerbations in children are associated with respiratory viral infection and atopy, resulting in systemic immune activation and infiltration of immune cells into the airways. The gene networks driving the immune activation and subsequent migration of immune cells into the airways remains incompletely understood. Cellular and molecular profiling of PBMC was employed on paired samples obtained from atopic asthmatic children during acute virus-associated exacerbations and later during convalescence.