Phil Hansbro
Professor
University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute
New South Wales
Australia
Biography
Professor Hansbro holds a tenured chair of immunology & microbiology at the University of Newcastle and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia Principal Research Fellowship. He has established and leads a team that investigates the pathogenesis of infectious and respiratory diseases, including asthma, COPD and recently lung cancer. He has extensive expertise in the development and utilization of mouse models that recapitulate the hallmark features of human disease and complimentary human studies using state of the art facilities. He has developed unique short-term mouse models of severe, steroid-resistant asthma, COPD and lung cancer. These models enable novel studies that identify new therapeutic targets and to test emerging therapies for respiratory diseases. He has established expertise and techniques in assessing inflammation and pathophysiology in experimental infections, asthma, COPD and lung cancer. His group routinely performs analysis of inflammatory cell influx and cytokine/chemokine levels, assess remodeling in terms of mucus secreting cell hyperplasia, collagen levels/deposition/fibrosis and epithelial thickening, and emphysema. This occurs using cytospins, microscopy with moving stages, real time qPCR, ELISA, western blot and multiplex protein assays, flow cytometry and FACS sorting, perfusion, histology and staining and morphometric analysis. They have particular expertise in the measurement of lung function using invasive plethysmography and routinely perform forced manoeuvre and oscillation techniques. His group has expertise in assessing inflammatory processes including inflammasomes, microRNAs, microbiomes, epigenetic, oxidative stress, etc, in these systems.
Abstract
Abstract : The Role of the Microbiome in COPD
