The Asthma and Breathing Research Program - HMRI

19/01/2026

10/12/2025

As we’ve seen across Australia, smoke from bushfires can travel hundreds of kilometres, triggering respiratory symptoms such as cough, wheeze, and breathlessness.

For people with asthma, the risks are even greater. During smoke events, having a clear plan, the right medications, and access to evidence-based guidance can make a difference to health outcomes.

That’s why the Severe Asthma Toolkit is such a valuable resource.

It brings together practical, clinician- and patient-focused tools, including clinical Clinical Recommendations (https://lnkd.in/gsGM7f9u) and clear, shareable infographics, to support asthma management during bushfire smoke exposure.

The infographics include:
Bushfire Smoke - Information for People with Asthma
Bushfire Smoke - Information for Health Care Professionals
Bushfire Smoke - Mental Health during the Bushfire Season
Bushfire Smoke - Asthma Checklist
Bushfire Smoke - Recommendations for People with Asthma
Bushfire Smoke - For Pregnant & Breastfeeding women

If you or your patients are affected by asthma, we encourage you to explore the Severe Asthma Toolkit and share these resources widely.

https://lnkd.in/gTejsy8u

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25/11/2025

Our team has been nominated....The Centre of Excellence in Treatable Traits team, led by University of Newcastle Professors Vanessa McDonald and Peter Gibson from HMRI's Asthma and Breathing Program, is transforming respiratory health care. This multidisciplinary team has redefined asthma management through initiatives in oral corticosteroid stewardship, asthma remission, and personalised care. Their work has shaped national policy and led to $17 million and 345 publications.

25/11/2025

HMRI's Asthma and Breathing Research Program researchers Professor Peter Gibson, Professor Vanessa McDonald, and Dr Dennis Thomas are leading this work locally as part of the national effort coordinated by Asthma Australia.

Researchers are using AI to create digital twins of patients to help find a cure for asthma, a condition affecting 262 million people globally.

Researchers at The University of Newcastle, Australia and HMRI are part of the national CURE Asthma Initiative, working to understand the different forms of asthma and develop targeted treatments that address root causes rather than just symptoms.

The research recognises that asthma isn't a single disease but a complex collection of distinct conditions, each requiring its own solution. Using genetics, national datasets, and innovative lab techniques, researchers are working to uncover the biological switches that cause asthma and how to turn them off.

HMRI's Asthma and Breathing Research Program researchers Professor Peter Gibson, Professor Vanessa McDonald, and Dr Dennis Thomas are leading this work locally as part of the national effort coordinated by Asthma Australia.

For millions of people living with asthma, this research could be life changing.

Read more: https://okt.to/IEZsCr

25/11/2025

Australia is entering a new era in asthma research, one where remission is achievable and a cure is now a national goal. As highlighted in Newcastle Herald article, featuring Dr Dennis Thomas, Australian teams are uniting at the CURE Asthma Symposium to accelerate discoveries using AI-enabled datasets, genomics, and decades of clinical research.

Within the Asthma and Breathing Research Program, we are proud that our work led by Professors Peter Gibson and Vanessa McDonald helped establish the foundations of severe asthma research and demonstrated that asthma remission is achievable.

The next step is understanding why some people reach remission and others don’t, and how we can reset the biological switches that drive asthma from early life.

Australia has the expertise, partnerships and technological capability to achieve what once seemed impossible.

A cure is now within reach.

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25/11/2025

Is a cure for asthma finally within reach?

At the Centre of Excellence in Treatable Traits, along with Asthma Australia, we are proud to be part of Australia’s national effort to answer this question and the momentum is extraordinary!

A new Medical Journal of Australia supplement, released ahead of the 2025 CURE Asthma Symposium, highlights how decades of pioneering Australian research have transformed severe asthma care. Biologic therapies, built on discoveries led by Australian scientists, are now delivering on-treatment remission for many people with severe asthma. The next step is even more ambitious: understanding how we move from remission to true cures.

The CURE Asthma initiative brings together experts across clinical, data, and laboratory science, including researchers within the CRE in Treatable Traits. Through national collaboration and next-generation approaches. AI-driven digital twins, epigenetics, molecular discovery, and stem-cell organoid models researchers are integrating data from more than 75,000 Australians to uncover the mechanisms that drive asthma at its roots.

Australia has the partnerships, technology and scientific capability to transform asthma care and we are proud that our team is contributing to this collective national vision.

You can read the articles here:

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05/11/2025

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RESEARCHERS

Last Thursday evening at the Hunter Children’s Research Foundation Awards Night, our Asthma & Breathing researchers secured three out of the five pilot grants awarded!

This is an amazing achievement and helps our researchers to continue to improve the health and wellbeing of people in our community.

These achievements also highlight the depth and strength of our paediatric research community, and they showcase the exceptional talent and dedication of our researchers.

🎉 Bronwyn Brew received funding for the project Tracking severe wheeze from infancy to asthma in childhood, with co-investigators: Vanessa Murphy, Joerg Mattes, Jihong Liu, and Jane Grehan.

🎉 Vanessa Murphy received funding for a microbiome pilot study – The role of the infant microbiome in asthma and allergy development among children at high risk. Co-investigators: Adam Collison, Emily Hoedt, Bronwyn Brew, and Megan Jensen.

🎉 Gabriela Martins Costa Gomes received funding for the study – Simplifying Infant Lung Function with cRIP, using machine learning to predict bronchiolitis. Co-investigators: Adam Collison, Joerg Mattes, Vanessa Murphy, and Stuart Szwecs.

Congratulations to everyone!

23/10/2025

Listen in at 8:45 to hear about our asthma in pregnancy research

1233 ABC Newcastle Breakfast is broadcasting LIVE from HMRI's 'Sip on Science' event at Dixon Beach to celebrate National Research Week.

Come down, grab a coffee and meet some of our region's leading medical researchers ☕🔬

22/10/2025

The weather is heating up! 🔆 Large parts of NSW will have high temperatures and strong winds today, ideal conditions for bushfires to start unfortunately.
🔥Bushfire smoke impacts our health, and people with respiratory conditions, the elderly and children are particularly at risk.
To help prepare for the warmer months, check out our Infographics from the Severe Asthma toolkit, which were developed in association with - they contain helpful information regarding the health impacts of bushfire smoke, vulnerable populations and how to reduce risk.
👉https://toolkit.severeasthma.org.au/resources/infographics/

15/10/2025

Asthma & Breathing have been on the move this week! 📦 📦 Thanks to our key program 🌟 superstars 🌟 who have been working hard supporting the relocation of labs & offices to ensure our studies continue as normal. 🫁 Same great research! 🔬 You’ll still find us in the HMRI building 😊

01/10/2025

24/09/2025

🥂CONGRATULATIONS 👏

Dr Megan Jensen, Senior Research Fellow in the Asthma and Breathing Group, Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) has been awarded the inaugural TSANZ Chiesi Future Women Leaders in Respiratory Health Fellowship. This will support Megan’s project “Maternal Asthma in the Postpartum Period: the influence of weight & infant feeding,” to provide knowledge in maternal and infant health.

Thank you to Chiesi Australia for supporting woman in science!