SPIRITUS: (09-15) A Monthly update from the Respiratory Technology team at the WIMR
This is our September 2015 update of news from the RespiTech group at the WIMR. This month, members of the group have travelled to China to attend the second Inhalation Asia conference in Shenyang. Wing-Hin Lee, Judy Loo, YY, Lily Daviskas, Paul Young, Daniela Traini and Prof Guy Marks attended and represented the Woolcock.
Guy gave the opening Plenary lecture on ‘TB control in the Asia region: a need for new approaches’ Daniela also gave a presentation on TB and how the Woolcock and Pharmaxis have partnered to develop an innovative inhaled TB product that can be used to significantly reduce treatment times in TB sufferers. In other sessions, Dr Wing-Hin Lee presented an invited talk on novel therapies for cancer in the ISAM sponsored session on lung cancer. Paul and Philip Kwok (University of Hong Kong) gave a morning ‘Inhalation 101’ workshop for ECR researchers. Other members of the Woolcock participated in the conference including Judy Loo, Hui Xin Ong (YY) and Evangelia Daviskas.
Prior to the Conference, Paul visited Eric Zhu, a RespiTech Alumni, at his company in Hangzhou and Daniela give a two day workshop on inhalation medicine at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University.
RespiTech Members at Inhalation Asia. Clockwise from top left: David Cipolla (Aradigm), YY, Eric Zhu, Dany Traini, Paul Young, Wing-Hin Lee, Judy Loo, Lego Scientists, Lily Daviskas
Back at home the group have also been busy. YY gave a seminar to the Woolcock on multi-cell-culture models for studying drug uptake and interaction at the lung epithelia and the group published three peer reviewed articles. The first, authored by Eric, entitled ‘The formation of aerosol particles from solution-based pressurised metered dose inhalers and implications of incomplete droplet drying: theoretical and experimental comparison’ was accepted in Aerosol Science and Technology. The second, co-authored by Eric and Mehra focussed on the ‘Delivery Of Theophylline As a Dry Powder For Inhalation’ was accepted in the Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The third, from Wing focussed on lung cancer is entitled ‘Inhalation of nanoparticles-based drug for lung cancer treatment: advantages and challenges’. This was also accepted in the Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences as a special issue on inhalation therapy, guest edited by YY. You can learn more about our publications on our home page here.