TSANZ Research Partnership

Partnering with the Thoracic Society on major grant schemes

If you would like to engage with the Thoracic Society as a partner on your grant proposal, or request a letter of support, please email TSANZawards@thoracic.org.au.

A minimum of 4 weeks is required to guarantee a letter of support can be provided. Depending on staff capacity letters of support may be able to be provided with less notice, especially for grant rounds that have a short submission period.

TSANZ Success in the MRFF 2021 Chronic Respiratory Conditions Grant

We are delighted to see the success TSANZ member’s have had in the MRFF 2021 Chronic Respiratory Conditions Grant funding scheme.

The TSANZ are a partner organisation on five of the successful projects and we have highlighted these exciting research proposals below:

• Personalising the management of obesity-associated asthma using medical nutrition therapy and physical activity prescription: The IDEAL Study, the University of Newcastle.
  Chief Investigators: Dr Hayley Scott, Prof Lisa Wood, Dr Sarah Valkenborghs, Prof Anne Dixon, Prof Jay Horvat, Dr Natasha Weaver, Dr Serene Yoong, Dr Bronwyn Berthon, Dr Evan Williams, Dr Alexandra Brown.
  Associate Investigators: Meagan Morrissey (Consumer Representative), Prof Peter Wark, Prof Emad El-Omar, Prof Christine Jenkins.
  Partners: The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, National Asthma Council Australia, Asthma Australia and Hunter Medical Research Institute.
  
  $1,474,151 awarded to Dr Hayley Scott and a team to personalise the management of obesity-associated asthma using medical nutrition therapy and physical activity prescription: The IDEAL Study
  Around 42 per cent of Australian adults who have asthma are classified obese, which is associated with poorer asthma outcomes. It is a treatable trait, however there is insufficient evidence to guide its treatment. Dr Hayley Scott and her team will test the first individualised obesity management approach in people with asthma, which will address nutritional and physical activity inadequacies, while considering patient preferences, behaviours, and comorbidities. They will determine the impact on asthma, with findings
  informing policy and practice.

• A randomised clinical trial of a digital self-management package for people with Interstitial Lung Disease (the REBUILD-SM trial), University of Sydney.
  Chief Investigators: Prof Tamera Corte, Prof Anne Holland, Prof Daniel Chambers, Prof Andrew Palmer, A/Prof Ian Glaspole, Prof Yuben Moodley, Prof Anthony Keech, Dr Liliana Laranjo, A/Prof Luke Knibbs,  A/Prof Lauren Troy, Dr Narelle Cox, Dr Ingrid Cox, A/Prof Nicole Goh.
  Associate Investigators: A/Prof Yet Khor, Mr Mark Brooke, Prof David Price, Dr Kerry Hancock, Dr John Macintosh, A/Prof Jason Dowling, Ms Joanna Lee, Dr Laura Glenn, Mrs Tania Hyde, Mrs Julie Allan

  This trial will address a major unmet need identified by people with interstitial lung disease, for disease-specific self-management and support. We will study the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of our self-management program delivered via our smartphone application in a randomised clinical trial (REBUILD-SM trial). We hypothesise that REBUILD-SM will improve quality of life for people living with ILD, through better self-efficacy and reduced symptom burden and anxiety.

• Primary Breathe AUS: A primary care technology-enabled intervention to improve symptom self-management for people with chronic respiratory illness, Monash University.
  Chief Investigators: A/Prof Natasha Smallwood, Prof Lena Sanci, Prof Jennifer Philip, Prof Grant Russell, Prof Jonathan Mant, A/Prof Anna Spathis (UK), Prof Sinthia Bosnic-Anticevich, A/Prof Jo-Anne Manski-Nankervis, A/Prof Daniel Steinfort, A/Prof Yet Khor, A/Prof Christian Osadanik, A/Prof Rebecca Disler, Dr Kerry Hancock.

  Breathlessness is a common, distressing symptom experienced by people with lung conditions. It is hard to treat as it persists despite treating the lung condition. A few hospital teams have developed effective ways to support patients to improve their breathing, but access to this care is limited. Using technology (websites, Apps, telehealth), this research will test whether this breathlessness care can be effectively provided in primary care to enable more people with lung diseases to benefit.

• Minimising Oral Corticosteroid use in Asthma using Treatable Traits, the University of Newcastle.
  Chief Investigators: Vanessa McDonald, Peter Gibson, Rebecca McLoughlin, Phil Bardin, Dennis Thomas, John Blakey, John Upham, Liz Holliday, Alvar Agusti, Richard Beasley, Anne Vertigan, Ian Pavord, Penny Reeves, Luke Wolfenden, John Fardy.
  Associate investigators: Mr Greg Archbold – consumer representative, Mr John Gornall – consumer representative, Dr Vanessa Clark – Representative of the NHMRC CRE in Asthma Treatable Traits.
  Partner Organisations: The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, Asthma Australia, Hunter Medical Research Institute.
  
  More than $1.8 million awarded to Professor Vanessa McDonald to lead a team aiming to minimise oral corticosteroid use in asthma using ‘Treatable Traits’
  Asthma is a common disease and significant public health problem in Australia, affecting 11 per cent of the population. Current asthma management approaches treat all patients the same, using a step up-step down approach, which fails to recognise the complexity and diversity of the condition, particularly in those with more severe disease.
  Professor McDonald and her team will test the effectiveness of a new individualised treatment approach they have called Treatable Traits, as well as its acceptance as an approach. A trait is a characteristic belonging to a person, that can be behavioural, physical, psychosocial or genetic. For a trait to be included in the approach it needs to be something that can be changed, or ‘treated’. The team will assess each person to identify their traits then personalise their treatment plan, to treat these traits.

• Treatable Traits in Interstitial Lung Disease (TTRILD) Study: The New Frontier, University of Western Australia.
  Chief Investigators: Yuben Moodley, Tamera Corte, Andrew Palmer, Daniel Chambers, Philip Hansbro, Joanne Dickinson, John Mackintosh, Emily Jeffery, Vinicius Cavalheri, Nicole Goh, Yet Hong Khor, Tim Luckett, Alan Teoh, Joseph Powell, Kristin Gainey.

  Associate Investigators: Natasha Smallwood, Juh Chih.
  Partner Organisations: University of Western Australia, Institute for Respiratory Health, Lung Foundation Australia, The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, Australia ILD Registry, CRE-PF PACT.