Professor Breakspear is the Group Leader of the Systems Neuroscience Group at HMRI.
Our better breathing research focuses on individuals and includes all conditions related to breathing that impair health and wellbeing.
We study asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), vocal cord dysfunction, nose and upper airway disorders, sleep disorders and sleep quality, pleural disease, interstitial lung diseases, airway infections and allergies, and symptom management.
Our program addresses the global disease burden caused by breathing disorders. We take an inclusive approach, addressing the whole respiratory system, including the upper, middle and lower airways and the lungs.
Disorders of this system account for a large global burden, including rhinitis, asthma, chronic lung diseases from premature birth and environmental exposures. These breathing conditions cause significant quality of life impairment and are a major cause of hospitalisation and unscheduled healthcare presentations.
Breathing conditions are frequently incorrectly diagnosed and treated, leading to reduced treatment response, side effects of ineffective treatments and further erroneous treatments. One in three Australians (over 7 million people) has a chronic condition affecting their breathing (Source – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). These conditions affect the airways which include the lungs, as well as the passages that transfer air from the mouth and nose into the lungs.
Individuals undergo surgery an average of nine times in their lifetime. Surgery is increasingly complex, and our aging population presenting for surgery is increasingly co-morbid.
Historically surgical and anaesthesia research has occurred in silos, and may not be easily translatable or scalable, with patient-focussed outcomes (including psychological and social) only coming to the forefront in more recent years. The medical evidence base is expanding rapidly but its translation into patient care is incomplete and understudied. There is an urgent need for coordinated, collaborative, clinician-driven and relevant research that seeks to optimise holistic long-term health outcomes for all the community using the surgical encounter as an opportunity for improved health outcomes.
Our collaborative, clinician-driven program seeks to improve the operative experience through research into:
Improving clinical care by determining optimal systems and team processes that drive safety and efficiency
Reducing unnecessary procedures
Improving economic outcomes and reducing waste
The vision: optimal health for all women.
We study maternal health, sexual and reproductive health, gender equity in relation to health, global health, healthy ageing, chronic conditions and preventive health, mental health, and violence against women. We are the local hub for the national Women’s Health Research Translation and Impact Network, an Australian Health Research Alliance network.
Consumer and community involvement and coproduction are key features of our research that includes the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH), which has been collecting data from 57,000 women for over 25 years.
Cough is an annoying symptom following the common cold and can persist for weeks or months in some individuals. This study aims to test whether early intervention for cough reduces symptoms and reduces the duration of cough.
Eosinophilic Oesophagitis in childhood is associated with chronic heartburn, nausea, vomiting, dysphagia, failure to thrive, food getting stuck in the oesophagus and can result in permanent scarring of the oesophagus. Delays in diagnosis and treatment failure is not uncommon. There is no cure, and no predictor for treatment response has been identified.
The heart is a complex structure designed to help pump blood efficiently around the body. While much is known about how the heart contracts and changes shape, limited attention has been paid to the properties of the blood flowing inside the cardiac chambers.
Urinary tract infections are a common cause of bacterial infection, mostly affecting females. These infections can cause long-term damage to the urinary tract, especially when they occur in children.