Molecular impact of climate change upon respiratory health

• PhD

Particulate matter air pollution is the leading cause of global disease burden, with exposure causally linked to respiratory diseases driven by epithelial cell dysfunction, including lung cancers and fibrosis.

We found that acute exposure to air pollution accelerates lung tumorigenesis through the release of the inflammatory cytokine IL-1β from pulmonary macrophages (Hill*, Lim*, Weeden*, Nature 2023). However, it is unclear whether cumulative pollution exposure leads to persistent alterations in the lung, creating a prolonged susceptibility to disease beyond the initial exposure window.

This project focuses on lung-resident macrophage responses to repeated challenges with urban air pollutants and the regulators driving aberrant macrophage-epithelial cross-talk in early tumourigenesis.

Techniques employed include in vivo modeling, 3D organoid assays, live cell microscopy, immunological and molecular biology techniques.

The Weeden lab is located with the Personalised Oncology Division and is dedicated to understanding the cellular and molecular impact of a changing climate upon respiratory health.

We have used multi-disciplinary techniques to make fundamental discoveries revealing how the inhaled environment reprograms lung epithelial cells for cancerous fates (Weeden, PLOS Biology 2017, Weeden, Cancer Cell 2023), with the overarching goal of translating these findings to predict risk of respiratory disease and novel prevention strategies (Weeden*, Hill*, Cell 2023).

We collaborate throughout WEHI, ensuring a diverse range of expertise to support our team’s growth. We are a newly established laboratory group seeking curious, collaborative and thoughtful team members, and encourage students of all backgrounds to apply.