Research Roundup:
September 2018
Welcome Message
Like many of our members, we have recently returned from the European Respiratory Society Congress where an overwhelming amount of scientific and clinical advances, discussions and debates were had over five days. The abstracts for most sessions can be found here and the limbic have provided us with some articles below highlighting key messages.
Our members had a very successful meeting and we applaud the work by the numerous TSANZ members who were recognised by the ERS for their research, including;
- Peter Gibson – ERS Gold Medal in Asthma
- Jodie Simpson – ERS Romain Pauwels Research Award
- Gary Anderson – ERS Presidential Award
- Sally Yunsun Kim – Co-funded Long-Term Research Fellowship 2018.
- Pawan Sharma – Short-term Research Fellowship – April 2018 round
- Louisa Organ – ERS Fellowship Recipient 2017-2019
- Louisa Owens – ERS Grant for Best Abstract in Paediatric Respiratory Physiology
- David Currow – ERS Grant for Best Abstract in Rehabilitation and Chronic Care
- Deborah Reynolds-Sandford – ERS/ELS Travel Grant for Best Abstract in Patient-Centred Research
Looking ahead, abstracts to the TSANZSRS19 are closing soon, on the 12th of October. This ASM is themed Respiratory Infection and you will begin to see some exciting plenaries, workshops and symposiums online as the program is populated.
We are pleased to announce that the Maurice Blackburn Grant-in-Aid for Occupational Lung Disease and the Maurice Blackburn ASM Travel Award for allied health and nursing are now open. We would also like to remind you that two LFA awards are still open for submissions, including the LFA Cochrane Airways Australia Scholarship 2019 and the LFA David Wilson PhD Scholarship in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis 2019.
The full list of awards and more information on these can be found in the Open Awards section of this newsletter and on the TSANZ Awards Submissions Portal.
Enjoy the September edition of your research roundup.
Profs Phil Hansbro & Sandra Hodge
Co-Chairs, Research Sub-Committee
The following articles will take you to thelimbic.com
Peter Gibson’s ERS Gold Medal in Asthma: macrolides and macrophages
Malignant pleural effusions: the jury is still out on definitive management
Promise in targeting parasympathetic nerve in COPD
Adult bronchiectasis management is evolving: 9 new recommendations
No safe threshold: the air pollutants causing asthma in Australian kids
Australian study debunks traditional thinking on OSA
Could lower airway microbiota serve as a biomarker for CF progression?
Go hard on PAH: by the time you see it, it’s already bad
Lung cancer patients benefit from brachytherapy palliation
Open Awards
Thoracic Society Awards
TSANZ Peter Phelan Research Award – closes 31 Oct 18
TSANZ Rob Pierce Grant-in-Aid for Indigenous Lung Health – closes 31 Oct 18
TSANZ Indigenous Respiratory Nursing Award – closes 31 Oct 18
Maurice Blackburn Grant-in-Aid for Occupational Lung Disease – closes 18 Nov 18
Maurice Blackburn ASM Travel Award – closes 18 Nov 18
Joint Awards
TSANZ / LFA / CSL Behring Research Award for Alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency – closes 31 Oct 18
TSANZ and National Asthma Council Australia Asthma and Airways Career Development Fellowship – closes 31 Oct 18
Lung Foundation Australia Awards
The Lung Foundation Australia David Wilson PhD Scholarship in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis 2019 – closes 10 Oct 18
Lung Foundation Australia/ Cochrane Airways Australia Scholarship 2019 – closes 2 Nov 18
How to participate
Follow the links above to access each award application form and download the information sheet.
Please email the TSANZ Awards Coordinator with any questions, comments or enquires.
Watch this space for more award announcements…
The Next TSANZ Webinar!
Thursday 11th October 2018
1pm AEDT | 2pm NZDT
Research Techniques to Study Respiratory Diseases – Prof Phil Hansbro
The webinar will be discussing a range of techniques that are valuable for studying disease, identifying new therapeutic targets and testing novel treatments.
Professor Phil Hansbro Biography:
Professor Hansbro is a group leader and holds a personal chair in immunology and microbiology at the Hunter Medical Research Institute and University of Newcastle, Australia and is Associate Director of the Priority Research Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases there. He is also an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow. He has established internationally recognised research programs in infections, COPD, asthma and recently lung cancer. His group has developed several novel mouse models of the important diseases (COPD, severe, steroid-insensitive asthma, early life infection & lung cancer). He has interrogated them (immune, histological, pathological, lung function & molecular analysis) to substantially further our understanding of pathogenesis and to develop novel therapies. He performs complimentary collaborative clinical and multi-disciplinary studies and collaborates widely. He publishes extensively in influential journals and he is regularly invited to present internationally including as plenary and to chair sessions. He has a substantial funding record of obtaining nationally competitive grants that support his group. He undertakes substantial mentoring and supervision activities of junior researchers, regularly sits on grant review panels and is on the editorial board of 4 journals. He is an active advocate for respiratory research in lobby groups and is regularly in the press promoting research and funding.
CLICK HERE to register!
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Missed out on a webinar?
The videos from our previous webinars with Professor Allan Glanville and Sally Powell are now available for on-demand viewing. For more information, please CLICK HERE!
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Respirology – Editor’s Choice
Respirology Issue 23.9 (September 2018)
Chin‐Tun Hung, Shu‐Fen Li, Wei‐Sheng Chung
DOI: 10.1111/resp.13298
Research team from the Taichung Hospital and Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Taiwan. From left to right: Drs Chin-Tun Hung, Shu-Fen Li and Wei-Sheng Chung
Jorine E. Hartman, Karin Klooster, Henk Groen, Nick H.T. ten Hacken, Dirk‐Jan Slebos
DOI: 10.1111/resp.13295
Endobronchial valve (EBV), with permission from PulmonX
Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness month
It is Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness month and Respirology have a number of articles available as a Topic in Focus. The collection includes a TSANZ position statement and these Articles will be freely available in the awareness month of September.
Research Project and Survey Requests
Implementation of Severe Asthma Management
About the Survey:
On behalf of the NHMRC Centre of Excellence in Severe Asthma (www.severeasthma.org.au), we request your assistance in completing a short survey regarding the implementation of management strategies for severe asthma. We are seeking feedback from multidisciplinary healthcare professionals in Australia.
The survey is available at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SevereAsthmaCRE
The results from this survey will inform expert forum discussions, ongoing research and development of resources to support translation and implementation of new findings into clinical practice. Our goal is to use this information to develop improved standards of care through the NHMRC Centre of Excellence in Severe Asthma.
This survey consists of 15 questions and we anticipate it will take less than 10 minutes to complete.
If respondents can submit their responses by Friday 02 November 2018 it will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you and kind regards,
Profs. Peter Gibson, Vanessa McDonald and John Upham, on behalf of the Centre of Excellence in Severe Asthma
This survey has been approved by the HNELHD HREC under authorisation number AU201809-09. All responses are completely anonymous and will be kept strictly confidential. If you experience any issues or have any questions, please contact: severeasthma@newcastle.edu.au
Management of complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyemas with the use of intrapleural fibrinolytics
Dear TSANZ Member,
You are invited to participate in a survey that is being conducted as part of a research study. The following survey asks a series of questions about your current practice, specifically with regards to the management of complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyemas with the use of intrapleural fibrinolytics. Insights gained will be considered for future presentation and publication. The estimated time to complete the survey is 10 minutes. Partial responses will not be saved if you exit out the survey early. Your participation is voluntary and anonymous. Responses will be kept confidential. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.
The survey can be completed here: https://hms.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8ddQsXRFwaqAtPD
If you have any questions about the survey, please contact the study team at: vholden@som.umaryland.edu
We thank you in advance for your participation.
Sincerely,
Van Holden, MD
Mihir Parikh, MD
Alex Chee, MD
Adnan Majid, MD
Division of Thoracic Surgery & Interventional Pulmonology
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard Medical School
The attached survey has been approved by the Beth Israel Deaconess Institutional Review Board – The IRB Protocol # is 2018P000052.
Centre for Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT)
ANZ health professionals who care for people with lung cancer are invited to take part in a survey about the clinical importance and management of cough.
Cough in lung cancer – a health professional survey
The survey link is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/cough_in_lung_cancer
Survey results will be used to establish the need and direction for development of further pharmacological and non-pharmacological management strategies for cough in lung cancer.
We are interested in the views of health professionals from the full range of disciplines, specialties and settings involved in caring for people with lung cancer, regardless of their level of experience in managing cough.
Participation in the survey is voluntary and anonymous, and will take approximately 10-15 minutes.
This project is being conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in collaboration with colleagues at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU).
For more information, please contact Dr Tim Luckett via tim.luckett@uts.edu.au or 02 9514 4861.