University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Background
Professor John Upham is a Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Queensland and a Senior Respiratory Physician at the Prince Alfred Hospital, Australia. His research program includes sophisticated studies of immune function in large longitudinal patient cohorts involving teams of investigators across multiple institutions. His unique contribution has been to lead the initiatives to understand biological mechanisms and identify novel therapeutic targets. In recent years he has raised nearly $25 million in research funding and been awarded 8 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project grants (4 as CIA in the last 5 years), 2 NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE), and 1 NHMRC Development Grant. He currently holds NHMRC grants of $7.5 million ($2.96 million as CIA).
Research Interest
John’s publications have been cited in >20 different subject areas, demonstrating translation to fields other than Medicine, and been cited in 80 countries, demonstrating international reach. His NHMRC-funded phase 3 study of low dose macrolides (Lancet 2017) provides a new treatment option for severe asthma. Findings from this pivotal randomised controlled trial have been incorporated into recently updated international guidelines, Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), November 2018, thus highlighting the health impact of his work. As part of the CRE in Severe Asthma, he and others developed a web-based Severe Asthma Toolkit that provides important educational and training resources for health care professionals. The Toolkit is now used in 168 countries worldwide, with over 30,000 users since launched. The 2018 GINA international guideline refers clinicians to the Toolkit as their sole severe asthma resource.
Role in Centre of Excellence in Treatable Traits
Chief Investigator
