Our People

Conjoint Professor Peter Gibson

University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute / John Hunter Hospital

Peter Gibson is a respiratory physician and clinical scientist studying the disease mechanisms and treatment of severe asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cough and other airway disorders. He has over 450 published articles and an extensive track record of research success and mentorship of clinical researchers. He also currently serves as President of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (2015-6).

Professor Vanessa McDonald

University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute / John Hunter Hospital

Vanessa McDonald is a Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, co-leader of the NHMRC Centre of Excellence in Severe Asthma and research leader in the Priority Research Centre (PRC) for Healthy Lungs at the University of Newcastle. She is a clinical academic nurse consultant in the Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at John Hunter Hospital. Vanessa’s research interests are centred around the development of innovative approaches to the management of chronic airway diseases particularly severe asthma and COPD.

Professor Guy Marks

University of New South Wales / Woolcock Institute of Medical Research / Liverpool Hospital / South Western Sydney Clinical School

Guy Marks is a respiratory physician and respiratory and environmental epidemiologist. His research focuses on causes, risk factors and prevention of lung disease and monitoring disease burden and management practices. He has pioneered work on measuring quality of life in people with asthma and described the importance of “thunderstorm asthma”.

Conjoint Professor Peter Wark

University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute / John Hunter Hospital

Peter Wark is a senior staff specialist and a conjoint professor with the University of Newcastle. His research focuses on the impact of infections on airways disease, with a particular interest in viral infections and acute exacerbations of chronic airways disease.

Professor Greg King

University of Sydney / Woolcock Institute of Medical Research / Royal North Shore Hospital

Greg King is a staff specialist in respiratory medicine and a research academic. His clinical and research interests are airways disease, particularly asthma, COPD, bronchiolitis and obesity and their impacts on lung function, including ventilation distribution, airway closure, airway hyper-responsiveness and remodelling.

Professor Bruce Thompson

Monash University / Alfred Hospital

Bruce Thompson is a respiratory physiologist and research academic. His primary research interest is the structure and function of the small airways through physiological measurement, imaging, and mathematical modelling.

Clinical Professor Helen Reddel

University of Sydney / Woolcock Institute of Medical Research

Helen Reddel is a research academic. Her research focuses on practical strategies to improve the management of asthma and COPD in primary care, collaborative approaches integrating pharmacists and nurses, and population level monitoring of asthma and COPD outcomes.

Professor John Upham

University of Queensland / Princess Alexandra Hospital

John Upham is a respiratory physician and clinical scientist with research interests in the immune basis of asthma and COPD. His research focuses on the importance of dendritic cells in allergic disease, new approaches to blocking allergic inflammation using bacterial products, documenting the development of immunity during childhood and host defence against respiratory viral and bacterial infections. He has published over 110 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Professor Lorraine Smith

University of Sydney

Lorraine Smith is a research psychologist with an interest in patient self-management of chronic conditions. Her work focuses on the development and testing of models for patient-centred self-management and goal-setting. Her current projects include developing an adolescent asthma app and trialling a telephone counselling self-management intervention for adults with asthma to examine the disconnect between patients’ and health professionals’ goals for treatment.

Clinical Professor Alan James

University of Western Australia / Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital / Hollywood Private Hospital

Alan James is a consultant respiratory physician and research academic.  His research includes: a) the role of airway smooth muscle and extracellular matrix in excessive airway narrowing in asthma and COPD and; b) the epidemiology of common lung diseases, in particular the genetic and environmental risk factors for, and natural history of respiratory diseases in the general population.

Dr Michael Fricker

Supervisor: Peter Gibson
University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute

Michael Fricker will be characterising existing and identifying new biomarkers to inform severe asthma diagnosis and treatment strategies. During his PhD studies he trained as a cell biologist with expertise in cell signaling at the University of Cambridge. In subsequent post-doctoral roles he investigated the contribution of defective cell signaling to neurodegenerative disease (University of Cambridge) and lung disease (HMRI, University of Newcastle). He is a member of TSANZ, Lung Foundation Australia and the European Respiratory Society.

Dr Vanessa Clark

Supervisor: Vanessa McDonald
University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute

Vanessa Clark will be focusing on translational research in severe asthma. She has a background in psychology and her research interests are chronic illness, health behaviours and mental health. During her PhD studies she focused on the subjective motivations and cognitive factors associated with smoking and psychosis. She has also worked on various projects including the NHMRC-funded “Healthy Lifestyles Project” trial to reduce cardiovascular risk factors among people with psychosis and with the Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health Research since 2008.

Dr Tong Gong

Supervisors: Guy Marks / Helen Reddel
Woolcock Institute of Medical Research / University of Sydney

Tong Gong completed a master program of Public Health Sciences and a PhD education in epidemiology from Karolinska Institute. Her major research interest is on genetic and environmental risk factors for asthma and neurodevelopmental disorders. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher on the development of national indicators for severe asthma with colleagues at the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring (ACAM).

Dr Farid Sanai

Supervisor: Greg King
Woolcock Institute of Medical Research / University of Sydney

Farid Sanai completed his PhD at the University of Sydney where he trained as a pharmacologist focusing on the role of autonomic neurotransmission in smooth muscle mechanics. In his current post-doctoral role with the Airway Physiology and Imaging group and in collaboration with University of Western Australia, he is examining airway smooth muscle contractility and the role of the extracellular matrix in excessive airway narrowing in COPD. Concurrently, he is also running a clinical trial comparing changes in small airway function associated with fine versus large particle inhaled corticosteroid treatment in asthma.

Ms. Daniela Eassey

Supervisors: Lorraine Smith / Helen Reddel
University of Sydney

Daniela Eassey graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons. Class 1) at the University of Sydney. Daniela is currently a PhD candidate under the supervision of A/Profs. Lorraine Smith and Helen Reddel. Her research project focuses on people’s experiences of severe asthma.

You can watch a video about her research here.

Mr. Bilal Malik

Supervisors: Peter Wark / John Upham / Nathan Bartlett
University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute

Bilal Malik completed a Masters and M.Phil in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan. He subsequently worked as a research associate at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center and in the Department of Biophysics, Center for Molecular Biomedicine in Jena, Germany. Bilal is currently a PhD candidate under the supervision of Profs. Peter Wark and John Upham. His research project focuses on viral infection, anti-viral immunity and the regulation of innate lymphoid type-2 cells, in relation to severe asthma.

Ms. Natalie Niessen

Supervisors: Michael Fricker / Peter Gibson / Jodie Simpson / Katie Baines
University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute

Natalie Niessen completed a Masters in Molecular Biosciences at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany. Natalie is currently a PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. Michael Fricker and Prof. Peter Gibson. Her research project focuses on understanding aberrant inflammatory signaling in asthma.

Mr. Sai Praneeth Narla

Supervisors: John Upham / Peter Wark
University of Queensland / Translational Research Institute

Sai Praneeth Narla graduated with a Masters in Immunology and Allergy with the Developing Solutions Masters Scholarship from The University of Nottingham, UK. Sai is currently a PhD scholar under the supervision of Prof. John Upham and Prof. Peter Wark. His research project focuses on anti-viral immunity and the regulation of macrophages and dendritic cells, in relation to severe asthma.

Ms. Eleanor Majellano

Supervisors: Vanessa Clark / Vanessa McDonald
University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute

Eleanor Majellano graduated with a Master of Public Health at Curtin University in Perth supported by Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships. She is currently a Ph.D. scholar under the supervision of Dr. Vanessa Clark and Professor Vanessa McDonald. Her research project focusses on determining the models of care for severe asthma.

Ms. Michelle Stubbs

Supervisors: Vanessa Clark / Vanessa McDonald
University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute

Michelle Stubbs graduated with a Master of Nursing at The University of Technology Sydney supported by Edith Cavell Scholarships. She is currently a Ph.D. scholar under the supervision of Professor Vanessa McDonald and Dr. Vanessa Clark. Her research project is going to target anxiety and depression in severe asthma.

Ms. Natasha Winter

Supervisors: Vanessa McDonald / Peter Gibson / Michael Fricker
University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute

Natasha Winter graduated with a Bachelor of Biomedical Science with Distinction (Hons. Class I) from the University of Newcastle. She is currently a Ph.D. scholar under the supervision of Professor Vanessa McDonald, Professor Peter Gibson and Dr. Michael Fricker. Her research project focusses on novel inflammatory biomarkers within the airway-systemic innate inflammation axis in severe asthma and COPD.

Dr Louise Harkness

Supervisor: Greg King
Woolcock Institute of Medical Research

Louise Harkness worked with the Airway Physiology and Imaging Group, after working on her PhD in Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Sydney. She has a special interest in asthma, at both the cellular and physiological level. She was running a clinical trial examining the effectiveness of inhaled corticosteroids on the pulmonary function of asthmatics, when these drugs have been modified into smaller-sized particles.

Dr. Jeeva Sanjeevan

Supervisors: Bruce Thompson / Greg King
Monash University / Alfred Hospital

Jeeva Sanjeevan is an accomplished, multilingual doctor and researcher with an impressive academic background and a proven ability to develop and implement effective clinical practices that support department needs. He has extensive experience caring for patients from an array of cultural backgrounds, with over 10 years of clinical /research experience in mental health institutes, hospitals, primary care centre and clinics. Previous work indicates that the small airways have a profound effect in driving the severe asthma phenotype. Yet standard, inhaled therapies vary in their coverage of the airway tree, which may in part explain the treatment resistance of severe asthma. Jeeva’s research project will test new therapies that specifically target the small airways.

Mrs Deborah Hall

Coordinator & Administrative Support
University of Newcastle / Hunter Medical Research Institute

Contact: Deborah.Hall@newcastle.edu.au
Deborah Hall provides ongoing administrative support for our Centre and has extensive experience as an administrator at the University of Newcastle. She helps with matters relating to finances, logistics, administration and general enquiries.