New Collaborative Centre for Innovative Pleural Research receives $1.2M grant

Congratulations to Professor Gary Lee and his colleagues who have been awarded a $1.2 million grant through the Collaborative Centres Program, a new initiative of the Government’s successful Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund. This funding boost will support the establishment of the Collaborative Centre for Innovative Pleural Research at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

Pleural effusion, an abnormal buildup of fluid in the chest, affects 23 million people worldwide annually causing severe breathlessness. Professor Lee’s team has pioneered the use of indwelling pleural catheters (IPC) to help cancer patients manage this condition at home significantly improving their quality of life and reducing hospital visits.

The new centre aims to expand this successful approach to non-cancer-related pleural effusions which are more common and often result from heart liver or kidney failure. This expansion will benefit many more patients by reducing the need for draining procedures and hospitalisations thus saving healthcare costs.

Professor Gary Lee, a researcher at the Institute for Respiratory Health and Professor of Respiratory Medicine at UWA who is regarded as the world leader in pleural medicine and research will lead the collaborative research project with leading clinicians, scientists and allied health researchers from around the globe.

Professor Lee has successfully introduced many state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment methods that significantly reduce the need for invasive practices such as new intrapleural therapy that now cures 95 percent of patients with pleural infection (‘pleurisy’) without surgery.

Professor Lee’s team will collaborate with experts from various fields including cardiology hepatology and renal medicine as well as international partners from Dartmouth and the University of Bristol. This collaborative effort will ensure high-quality clinical trials and innovative treatments for pleural effusions.

“We are in the best position to apply our expertise to benefit more patients and bring major healthcare savings,” Professor Lee said.

The collaborative team includes Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital researchers Professor Brendan McQuillan (Cardiology), Professor Gary Jeffrey (Hepatology) and Professor Wai Lim (Renal). Professor Robert Newton (ECU) and international collaborators Professor David Feller-Kopman (Dartmouth) and Professor Nick Maskell (University of Bristol) will be sharing their expertise and support for the Centre.

This exciting development stresses the importance of ongoing research and innovation in improving patient care and outcomes. The Institute for Respiratory Health remains committed to advancing treatments and enhancing the quality of life for those affected by respiratory conditions.

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