Professor Hansbro, co-senior author of the study, said that the body’s inflammatory response plays a critical role in controlling viruses like SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. However, the disease can become deadly if the inflammation increased out of control.

“COVID-19 has highlighted how damaging out-of-control inflammation can be. A severe hyper-inflammatory response can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and organ failure,” said Professor Hansbro.

The researchers found that the therapeutic targeting of a single protein activated by several inflammatory pathways can help limit the dangerous inflammation that can result from COVID-19, without increasing viral replication in the lung.

This led to the discovery that idronoxil administered 3 days after infection could reduce the inflammation resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection in a pre-clinical mouse model of the disease.

The Hudson Institute’s Associate Professor Michael Gantier, who led the study, said that he believed idronoxil or its potential derivatives could not only help treat COVID-19 patients with severe lung hyper-inflammation but that it could also have potential application in treating future emerging viruses.

The research was published in the prestigious journal, Nature Communications with Dr Matt Johansen co-first author on the study.

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This year’s Meeting, sponsored by AstraZeneca, GSK and Cheisi, will be held at the Centenary Institute on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 October 2023.

Focus and talks

The 17th Annual NAMe meeting is a two day event designed to highlight emerging research in asthma and airways and to engage with new like-minded collaborators.

Talks will be presented by leaders in their fields, post-doctoral fellows and senior PhD scholars.

We highly recommend attending for the full two days.

Participants are encouraged to interact with the community of researchers, Professors and clinicians whenever possible. Talks are designed for speakers to discuss the kind of work they do and time will be allowed (5 minutes) for questions/discussion.

Senior researchers, Post-doctoral fellows and senior PhD students are encouraged to present and enter a poster. There will be prizes for the best two Post-doctoral and Post-graduate student presentations.

The program

The program will include talks across respiratory research including presentations from a number of prestigious invited national and international speakers. See the full Meeting program below.

See speaker highlights below.

Poster competition and Oral presentations

Prizes will be awarded for both the poster competition and oral presentations and we encourage all to enter. Share your wonderful work with delegates.

Prizes will be awarded for

• Best clinical Post-doc talk
• Best clinical PhD student talk
• Best basic Science Post-doc talk
• Best Basic Science PhD student talk
• Best Post-doc Poster
• Best PhD student poster

Meeting dinner

The dinner will be held on Thursday, 26 October at The Grandstand just a short walk from the Meeting venue.

We are delighted to announce that through our sponsors we are now able to offer the NAMe dinner tickets complimentary for guests. Please register here for the dinner as tickets are limited.

Dinner tickets need to be purchased separately to your Meeting registration.

Dinner ticket reservations closes 12 October 2023.

Meeting Registration

Registrations close 12 October 2023.

The Meeting will be streamed via Zoom

If you are joining via Zoom please still register your details in the registration section. Note: If presenting a talk or entering a poster in the competition attending the Meeting in person is required. The Meeting dinner is only open to registrants who attend the Meeting in person.

Zoom link https://utsmeet.zoom.us/j/82777676017 

Getting to the Centenary Institute

Building 93, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Johns Hopkins Drive (off Missenden Road)

CAMPERDOWN NSW 2050

Plan your trip

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“The higher our baseline inflammation levels, the more vulnerable we are to disease,” says Professor Hansbro.

“Supporting the health of our gut by enjoying a healthy diet and lifestyle is a simple but powerful way to really help drive down harmful inflammation in our bodies.”

Listen to Professor Hansbro explain the science behind health, disease and the gut on the Good Reading podcast here.

 ‘The Good Gut Anti-Inflammatory Diet’, which includes recipes and practical tips for minimising inflammation and improving whole-body health, can be purchased online here.

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Come along and meet with project leads to discuss student placements at the Centenary Institute.

Stay tuned for further information.

Event program (subject to change)

If you would like to share details of our Student Open Day with friends or family who may like insights and inspiration for their own career journey please download the event poster here.

Things to know when visiting the Institute.

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The Scientific Image Prize is an annual internal competition designed to recognise the incredible research of Centenary’s scientists, as well as their artistic abilities.

We invite our supporters, collaborators and the wider community to come and view the Exhibition which will be open to the public from 9.00am – 5.00pm Monday to Friday during the month of August.

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In this study, only one of these five cell types were linked to COPD disease features. The researchers also observed changes in the characteristics and functions of these neutrophils, which were linked to the decline in patient lung function. Similar neutrophil related changes were also observed in experimental models involving mice, commencing in the bone marrow and moving to the blood and then the lungs.

Professor Phil Hansbro, Director of the Centenary UTS Centre for Inflammation, joint senior author of the paper said the study suggests that there are changes happening in the immune cells of people with early-stage COPD, even before the disease progresses to severe stages. It shows that these specific types of neutrophils can be specifically targeted in new therapies in the blood before they reach the lungs. This would allow the other four neutrophil types to remain and fight off infections.

“These findings could potentially be used to develop new treatments and diagnostic tools for early detection and personalised management of COPD to enhance patients’ quality of life,” said Professor Hansbro.

Research paper: Systemic alterations in neutrophils and their precursors in early-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Lead author: Dr Theodore Kapellos, The Life and Medical Sciences Institute, University of Bonn.

[ENDS]

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Program

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Neutrophils, the first responders when there’s an injury or infection, move from blood vessels to the site of injury and initiate inflammation and healing. However, prolonged retention of neutrophils, such as at the site of vascular injury, can result in chronic inflammation and a build-up of atherosclerotic plaques that can lead to strokes and heart attacks.

Dr Joyce Chiu, lead author of the study, from the ACRF Centenary Cancer Research Centre, said that the team had uncovered the method by which neutrophils unstick from blood vessels as they move towards the site of injury. This mechanism, she said, could be potentially harnessed to reduce chronic inflammation by preventing the movement of neutrophils to certain areas of the body.

“Molecules known as integrins help neutrophils stick to the walls of blood vessels, to prevent the cells from being carried away by blood flow. To move to the site of injury, neutrophils must stick and unstick from blood vessel walls. While we knew how integrins helped neutrophils stick, we did not know how they unstick,” said Dr Chiu.

According to Dr Chiu, the study discovered that a molecule called protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), secreted by neutrophils, plays a crucial role in helping the cells unstick from blood vessels as they move towards the site of injury.

Dr Chiu believes that this finding suggests that PDI could be a target for new drugs to treat chronic inflammation in diseases including cardiovascular diseases.

“New drugs can be designed to inhibit PDI, to keep neutrophils from ‘unsticking’ and migrating from blood vessel walls. Preventing neutrophils from moving around can help prevent chronic inflammation by reducing their ability to accumulate at sites of injury or infection,” Dr Chiu said.

“Our research could pave the way for new treatments and management strategies that are able to limit the extent of inflammation, and potentially improve outcomes for individuals with chronic inflammatory and cardiovascular conditions.”

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Bridging the gap between basic science and translation into the clinic, Professor Pellegrini’s research is focused on the development of novel therapeutics and interventions for the management of infectious diseases that contribute significantly to global morbidity and mortality.

An expert on host-pathogen interactions, Professor Pellegrini is particularly interested in the targeting of host cell signalling pathways to promote clearance of infected cells to eradicate chronic infectious diseases. His work has resulted in 16 clinical trials, including that of interleukin-7 immunotherapy, which was approved for the treatment of a  previously fatal disease (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy) caused by the JC virus. Professor Pellegrini and his team have been awarded a number of prizes including the Burnet Prize, the Bupa Health Researcher Award, the Frank Fenner Award, an NHMRC Excellence Award and two Eureka Prizes. He was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in 2018.

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