Child Health Research Centre

The CHEP Respiratory Physiology team

The CHEP Respiratory Physiology team observes the management of lung function diseases, like asthma and cystic fibrosis and looks to close gaps to prevent exacerbations in these diseases through better management, including medication therapy and multi-disciplinary approaches. 

Multidisciplinary approach to complex asthmaAssessing the impact of a Complex Asthma model of care to service all eligible Queensland children 

A significant driver of the huge healthcare burden of asthma is children with difficult-to-treat or severe asthma (5-10% of childhood asthma, termed collectively as “Complex Asthma”). A recent survey of Australian and New Zealand paediatric tertiary services has highlighted the lack of a standardised approach to services and issues adequately identifying these children affected to ensure access to recommended models of care. At Queensland Children’s hospital (QCH) we have established a unique multidisciplinary team (MDT) service, involving eight different medical and allied health teams: Respiratory, Allergy & Immunology, Psychology, Psychiatry, Adolescent Medicine, Speech Pathology, Physiotherapy and Social work. It was awarded a QCH Excellence award in August 2026. The research program will focus on evaluating the available evidence, developing effective screening questionnaires for co-morbidities, and evaluating the overall effectiveness of this MDT approach.  Read more.

Understanding early life trajectories in cystic fibrosis (CF) 

Increasing evidence suggests that irreversible, progressive lung disease begins in the very early years of life for patients with CF, however, the exact mechanism(s) that drive this damage, and who is at risk, are still largely unknown. A significant limitation to early disease detection has been the lack of feasible and sensitive measures available for use in very young patients. In 2020 we commenced the Early Life Origins of CF Disease (ELO) study; a 5-year longitudinal study aimed at improving clinical outcome measures across the lifespan and disease severity of CF.  Read more.

Improving detection of Pulmonary Graft-vs-Host Disease to facilitate earlier intervention

Chronic Graft-vs-Host Disease affects 60% of Haematopoeitic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) survivors by 6 years after their transplant, affecting multiple organs including skin, liver, gastrointestinal tract and lungs. Gold standard for pulmonary GVHD diagnosis is abnormal spirometry and subsequent CT-based imaging. Pulmonary GVHD is estimated to affect 10% of all subjects post HSCT yet this incidence is a gross underestimate due to the insensitivity of spirometry to detect peripheral lung changes where this process arises. This leads to late diagnosis, poor response to treatment, and poor prognosis (2-year and 5-year survival of 60% and 50%, respectively). Better tools to detect and monitor pulmonary GVHD are urgently required.  Read More. 

MOSAIC: MBW and OSC surveillance after stem cell transplant international collaboration

The MOSAIC study (Multiple Breath Washout and Oscillometry Surveillance After stem cell Transplant International Collaboration) is a retrospective individual participant data meta-analysis designed to evaluate lung function in patients who have undergone allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Read more. 

Remote monitoring of Paediatric Asthma to Improve Asthma Diagnosis and Control

Childhood asthma mortality remains substantial, and rates of hospitalisation are increasing globally in young children. This is driven by poor asthma control (which affects 50% of asthmatics) and ongoing exacerbations (which affects 25%). Of the 40,000 admissions each year, 80% are preventable! Current symptom-based management approaches fail – limited by poor perception/reporting by children and parents - and conventional spirometry/peak flow is insensitive or too challenging for this setting. 

This research program consists of a series of projects to analyse existing, and collect new, data to define the clinical utility of a unique remote home-based monitoring strategy focused on the day-to-day variability of a novel and sensitive lung function test. Studies will investigate its ability to correctly identify evolving asthma, detect loss of asthma control and provide an early signal of an impending asthma exacerbation to improve long term asthma outcomes. Read more.

Obstruct StudyDefining the natural history and trajectories of preschool children with current wheeze

The OBSTRUCT cohort commenced in 2019 and has recruited 126 wheezy children and 57 healthy children. Nearly 50% of preschool children worldwide experience an episode of asthma-like symptoms, but only 30% with recurrent wheeze go on to develop asthma past 6 years of age. In this study we want to better understand the complex link between early childhood wheezing and asthma. 

Team Leader: Dr Tamara Blake 

 The CHEP Respiratory Physiology team is led by Dr Tamara Blake. Tamara is an early career researcher (7 years post-doc) and a trained respiratory scientist with over 10 years’ experience in measuring the lung function of children aged between 3-18 years across a range of disease modalities including asthma, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis (CF). She has a particular interest in childhood respiratory illnesses such as cystic fibrosis and asthma, emerging clinical measurement techniques, as well as Australian First Nations respiratory health.

The CHEP Respiratory Physiology team is a team of dedicated and enthusiastic researchers, including:

  • Ms Claire Dogherty, Senior Research Assistant
  • MsCrystal Au-Yeung, Senior Research Assistant
  • Ms Khushi Rathod, Senior Research Assistant
  • Mrs Cathy Pendergrast, Higher Degree by Research Scholar
  • Dr Matthew Wong, Medical Doctor and Higher Degree by Research Scholar

We collaborate with internationally renowned and leading academic researchers, including:

The CHEP Respiratory Physiology team collaborates with leading industry partners allowing our research to have a broad and deep impact in our community and accross the world, including:

We are a trusted research partner with the following government and industry associations and organisations:

If you are looking to work with a trusted research partner in respiratory physiology, please contact Dr Tamara Blake.