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If you have any questions or would like more information about the Western Australian Epithelial Research Program (WAERP), please click here to access our contact details.

News & Events

WA researchers will use a $1.97 million Medical Research Future Fund grant to develop a strategy for better follow-up of First Nations children after they’ve been hospitalised for respiratory infections, in a bid to halt the slide into more severe lung disease.

News & Events

Two outstanding researchers from the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre have been awarded Vertex Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Mentored Innovation Research Awards.

News & Events

The MAVRIC (Mechanisms of Acute Viral Respiratory Infection in Children) study recently celebrated the recruitment of the 1000th participant to the study, eight-year-old Sullivan Strahan.

News & Events

MEDIA ENQUIRIES Media Contacts About the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre Please direct general enquiries to our reception on (08) 6319 1000.

Research

Addressing the recognized challenges and inequalities in providing high quality healthcare for rare diseases such as children's interstitial lung disease (chILD) requires collaboration across institutional, geographical, discipline, and system boundaries. The Children's Interstitial Lung Disease Respiratory Network of Australia and New Zealand (chILDRANZ) is an example of a clinical network that brings together multidisciplinary health professionals for collaboration, peer learning, and advocacy with the goal of improving the diagnosis and management of this group of rare and ultra-rare conditions.

Research

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare, inherited, life-limiting condition predominantly affecting the lungs, for which there is no cure. The disease is characterized by recurrent pulmonary exacerbations (PEx), which are thought to drive progressive lung damage. Management of these episodes is complex and generally involves multiple interventions targeting different aspects of disease. The emergence of innovative trials and use of Bayesian statistical methods has created renewed opportunities for studying heterogeneous populations in rare diseases.

Research

Structural lung disease and neutrophil-dominated airway inflammation is present from 3 months of age in children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis after newborn screening. We hypothesised that azithromycin, given three times weekly to infants with cystic fibrosis from diagnosis until age 36 months, would reduce the extent of structural lung disease as captured on chest CT scans.

Research

Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to modern healthcare as it limits treatment options for bacterial infections, particularly impacting those with chronic conditions such as cystic fibrosis (CF). Viscous mucus accumulation in the lungs of individuals genetically predisposed to CF leads to recurrent bacterial infections, necessitating prolonged antimicrobial chemotherapy. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections are the predominant driver of CF lung disease, and airway isolates are frequently resistant to multiple antimicrobials.

Research

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. The gut microbiota and its associated metabolites may be involved in the development and progression of CVD, although the mechanisms and impact on clinical outcomes are not fully understood. This study investigated the gut microbiome profile and associated metabolites in patients with chronic stable angina and acute coronary syndrome compared with healthy controls.