Dr Hayley Lewthwaite aims to improve the health and wellbeing of the 7.5 million Australians who live with a chronic lung condition.

Conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and long COVID are leading causes of disease burden, and the prevalence and impact of these conditions are increasing with an ageing population, more frequent extreme weather events, and environmental pollution.

For people living with chronic lung conditions, breathlessness (or dyspnoea) contributes substantially to disease burden. It impacts people’s emotional wellbeing, sleep, and the ability to engage in self-care, social, leisure, and physical activities — every facet of life. Like for people who experience pain, which has comparable neurophysiological mechanisms, prevalence, and impact, people who experience breathlessness deserve safe and effective treatments. However, breathlessness is often under recognised and under treated by health professionals. Dr Lewthwaite’s research addresses this, by improving how breathlessness is assessed so its true severity is recognised, and exploring potential management strategies.