Our research on asthma is on the following areas / themes:

1. Airway remodelling
   Studying how the airways change structurally over time in asthma — changes to smooth muscle, extracellular matrix, basement membrane, fibrotic proteins, angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation).

2. Respiratory viruses and asthma exacerbations
   How viral infections worsen asthma, how airway smooth muscle and other resident lung cells respond to rhinoviruses, and how asthma exacerbations happen at a molecular / cellular signaling level.

3. Corticosteroids therapy (ICS) dosing, inflammation and remodeling
   Comparing low vs high dose inhaled corticosteroids to see how they affect inflammation, lung function, airway hyperresponsiveness, symptoms, etc. Also looking at biomarkers (cytokines, macrophages) and structural changes (basement membrane thickness).

4. Obesity, diet (fatty acids), and asthma medication responsiveness
   Investigating how things like a high dietary fat intake in obese asthma patients reduce how effective asthma medications are, and exploring mechanisms.

5. Airway microbiome and inflammatory phenotypes in asthma
   How the lower airway microbiota (which bacteria are present) relates to inflammation, asthma severity, response to steroids, and airway obstruction. Identifying distinct immune/inflammatory phenotypes, cytokine profiles, etc.

6. Role of resident lung cells in asthma pathophysiology
   Looking beyond immune cells: epithelial cells, smooth muscle cells, macrophages. How these “resident” cell types contribute to inflammation, structural changes, etc. Also the signaling pathways inside them (e.g. MAPKs), negative regulators (e.g. MKP-1) etc.