The Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre this month welcomed new PhD scholarship awardee Yaqin Alziyadat, whose exciting research work will support the Centre’s vision to ensure all children have healthy lungs for life.
Yaqin, who has joined the Children’s Respiratory Science team, is looking at how modifying the body’s immune system using a bacterial lysate (medicine made from bacterial cells that are broken down) can redirect the way the immune system reacts to viral respiratory infections in young children, towards more natural responses and away from those that lead to wheeze and asthma.
Yaqin said her aim is to significantly contribute to one of the most important areas of children’s medical research.
“Given the central importance of acute respiratory viral infections and acute wheezing in children’s early development, finding new strategies to either reduce or prevent these infections is one of the most important goals of children’s medical research,” Yaqin said.
The aim of this project is to form the basis for establishing immunomodulation (modifying the immune system by a drug or substance) as a safe, practical and scientifically-sound therapy.
“This information will allow this field of research to develop and improve health translation by identifying the key checkpoints that can be targeted for novel asthma therapies, as well as the development of more focused and efficient substances that stimulate or suppress the immune system with potentially permanent effects.”
Yaqin was awarded an Australian Government Research Training Program Stipend from The University of Western Australia and was therefore eligible for a prestigious Wal-yan Centre top-up award to support her research work.
"This generous support will allow me to focus my efforts on contributing to this vital research, as well as to be able to give back to my community by participating in mentoring programs to help inspire junior students to pursue a career in medical research."
The Wal-yan Centre’s competitive scholarship program was introduced in 2022 and aims to support the next generation of scientists in children’s respiratory research. Yaqin will receive three years of funding to support her PhD completion – congratulations Yaqin.
Around one million Australian children live with serious respiratory diseases.
Yaqin has joined around 140 Wal-yan Centre researchers who are working on more than 100 research projects to make a significant impact on this health challenge.