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Researchers at The University of Western Australia’s Centre for Respiratory Heath are among a group of Australian scientists awarded $2.5 million by the NHMRC to support a Centre for Research Excellence focusing on lung fibrosis.

Pulmonary fibrosis is a group of lung diseases characterised by the build up of scar tissue in the lungs, which severely reduces the ability of the lung to expand and leads to significantly reduced lung function. This worsens as the disease progresses and impacts on every aspect of a patient's life.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is the most prevalent of all the lung fibrosis disorders and is life-threatening, with a median survival for newly diagnosed patients of 2-5 years.

Professor Geoff Laurent, Director of UWA’s Centre for Respiratory Health and Director of the Centre for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, as well as Associate Professor Yuben Moodley, Head of Stem Cell Therapy and Respiratory Specialist at Fiona Stanley Hospital, are members of a multi-disciplinary national consortium.

“The development of a Centre of Research Excellence focusing on pulmonary fibrosis provides the unique opportunity to both identify ways of targeting this insidious disease as well as provide the much needed support for patients and the training of future clinical fellows,” Professor Laurent said

“This Centre for Research Excellence brings together a team of world leading scientists and clinicians across Australia who together, will develop strategies to better manage pulmonary fibrosis.”

The team, headed by Associate Professor Tamera Corte from the University of New South Wales, will deliver public education and clinical training programs as well as develop a comprehensive and integrated national research program into the epidemiology of lung fibrosis.

The research effort is supported by existing collaborative clinical and research platforms; the Australian IPF registry, the IPF Blood Biobank and Pulmonary Fibrosis lung tissue bank.

This grant success will add to the Institute for Respiratory Health’s and Centre for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine’s existing NHMRC funded lung fibrosis research program.

Further information:

The grant is in collaboration with the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, The University of Newcastle, La Trobe University, University of Sydney, The Prince Charles Hospital and University of Tasmania.

Media references

David Stacey (UWA Media Manager)                                                   (08) 6488 3229   0412 637 716

Sarah Cermak (Institute of Respiratory Health)                                                            0416 455 200