Bulletin #0094
SPRING 2018
A breath of fresh air for lung research Menzies has welcomed Professor Graeme Zosky, a respiratory physiologist, as a Deputy Director of the Institute. Professor Zosky has built a successful research career in Western Australia and Tasmania. His expertise is in building better understanding of the mechanics of how our lungs function. Professor Zosky’s research is clinically relevant in a multitude of ways. “Respiratory infection is the most common reason that young children are hospitalised,” he said. “This is often due to an exacerbation of asthma symptoms, but without knowing more about lung physiology we can’t improve the health of these children. I’d like to think that we can get to the stage where everyone has an equal start to life in terms of their respiratory health.” Professor Zosky collaborates
with critical care specialists at the Royal Hobart Hospital and has experience in the early life determinants of respiratory disease, including post-natal and in-utero exposures. He has also worked on occupational exposures such as coal dust and on other influences on lung health such as vitamin D and arsenic. Because of the large amount of established epidemiological research at Menzies, Professor Zosky is excited by opportunities “to bridge the bio-medicalepidemiological divide”, bringing together research into the
Building lung capacity: Professor Graeme Zosky.
factors that contribute to lung disease (its epidemiology) and his own bio-medical research into lung mechanics. The Menzies Director, Professor Alison Venn, said Professor Zosky’s joint appointment between Menzies and the School of Medicine was exciting for several reasons, among them the opportunity to further integrate research
Without knowing more about lung physiology we can’t improve the health of these children.
and teaching. This integration increases medical students’ access to researchers and lays the foundations of ongoing research for students who become clinicians. The leader of blood pressure research at Menzies, Professor James Sharman, is also a Deputy Director of the Institute. Former Deputy Director Professor Tracey Dickson continues as a research scientist at Menzies and is also now the Associate Dean Research in the broader College of Health and Medicine.
FE L LOW S H I P S
Boost for research into stronger bones and joints Menzies has received Federal Government funding of more than $650,000 that will allow it to extend clinical research into osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. The funding allows Dr Feng Pan to continue work identifying subgroups of clinical osteoarthritis with the aim of developing treatments customised to the subtypes. “Osteoarthritis is a
highly heterogeneous condition and the current ‘one size fits all’ approach to treatment is not working,” Dr Pan said. “We hope to be able to provide evidence that will allow
better treatment to reduce pain, slow the progression of the disease and reduce the burden of the disease overall.” The funding will also enable Dr Feitong Wu to test the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation for improving bone density in children with vitamin D deficiency. Dr Wu is also working
on identifying the modifiable risk factors in early and midlife for conditions such as low bone density, muscle weakness and falls. “This information will have the potential to help delay the onset of osteoporosis and reduce the risk of fractures in later life by intervening at an early stage of life,” Dr Wu said.
Menzies Bulletin Spring 2018
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