Student Opportunities

The Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre is looking for new Higher Degree Research Candidates to join our teams from 2024. We look for the best and brightest to join our world leading experts in children’s respiratory research.

We want to make our student training programs as unique as you. We will build bespoke research projects with our candidates. Plus we are always on the lookout for innovative new ideas that we can add to our Centre.

About us

The Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre is made up of collaborative teams who are driven to understand respiratory health over the entire life-course, for example: how the early environment (from pre-pregnancy, birth, infancy and childhood) impacts long term respiratory outcomes.

We integrate our understanding of lifestyles and fundamental biology with interactions in our community and environment to develop novel solutions that protect our kids and change how we deliver care to those who develop respiratory complications.

The Wal-yan Centre aims to achieve international breakthroughs in paediatric respiratory health that will improve, extend and save the lives of children suffering from cystic fibrosis, asthma, the effects of being born premature, respiratory infections and viruses, the consequences of our environment and other chronic respiratory diseases.

Strategic research areas

Beating Chronic Lung Disease
Research examples: antimicrobial resistance and ‘phage therapy; early drug discovery and fast-tracked drug pipelines
Early Life Influences
Research examples: pregnancy and early life influences on respiratory infections; lung health trajectories of those born premature
Respiratory Infections and the Immune System
Research examples: “First contact” – susceptibility and resilience to viruses; role of the immune system in asthma development
Lungs and the environment
Research examples: climate change and lung health; environmental exposures, toxicology and lung health
Indigenous Health
Research examples: prevalence and management of wet cough and bronchiectasis; lung function testing in Indigenous populations
Implementation into Clinics
Research examples: management of cystic fibrosis; novel device development for drug and medicine delivery

Why join our team?

In our day-to-day activities we:

use cutting edge platforms, models, cohorts, bioengineering and state of the art technology to solve questions
translate new tools, therapies and artificial intelligence into clinical use for the treatment of respiratory conditions
work side by side with our clinical teams to deliver work where it is needed, and
strive to develop community partnerships in all the work we do, ensuring that the voices are heard from the people that matter most.

We can give you:

access to our cohorts, databases, samples, expertise, training, platforms and equipment
development of your skills both as a scientist and as a professional, and
the opportunity to be a part of a Centre with a 35-year legacy of creating significant, positive outcomes for our kids, our communities and our scientific networks, globally.

Projects with funding available

Investigating the mechanisms by which an immunologically active agent prevents or reduces the severity of AVRIs in children. Please contact Ingrid Laing for further information.