A Message from the Director of the Centre...
The Lung & Allergy Research Centre (LARC) is focused on undertaking scientific research to understand the pathogenesis of asthma and other chronic pulmonary diseases, with particular interests in allergic inflammation and host defence against respiratory viral infections. This past year has seen further growth in the Centre, and has been highly prod
uctive for all concerned with success in attracting research funding, multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters, and a successful patent application. Key achievements have included:
(a) Investigating the importance of antigen presenting dendritic cells (DC) in the pathogenesis of human allergic disease, confirming the importance of DC in asthma. (b) Documentation of variations in the patterns of pollen allergy across different climatic regions of Australia. (c) Describing the key determinants of host defence against viral infections in chronic respiratory disease, with particular emphasis on the function of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and innate interferon production. The research of the group is well supported with grants from NH&MRC, Queensland Government Smart State Scheme, The University and the Asthma Foundation of Queensland.
