Associate Professor Cristan Herbert

Research Interests:

Chronic inflammatory diseases which affect the lungs, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and sarcoidosis.

My research aims to identify molecular mechanisms by which environmental pollutants and respiratory infections promote the development of severe airway inflammation in exacerbations in asthma and COPD. I have a particular interest in mediators which regulate the inflammatory response including  cytokines and non-coding RNA. Additionally, I am interested in the identification of biomarkers which may have potential for diagnosis and/or monitoring the progression of chronic inflammatory diseases.

Broad Research Areas:

• Pathology
• Lung diseases (Asthma, COPD, Sarcoidosis),
• Allergy
• Inflammation

Society Memberships & Professional Activities:

• Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ)
• Asian Pacific Society of Respirology  (APSR)
• European Respiratory Society (ERS)
• Australian and New Zealand Association for Health Professional Educators (ANZAHPE)

Specific Research Keywords:

• Allergy
• Asthma
• COPD
• Cytokines
• Epithelial cells
• Inflammation
• MicroRNA