Few healthcare problems are of more pressing importance than prematurity, defined as birth before 37 weeks’ pregnancy. In Western Australia, over 3000 babies are born preterm each year, and these individuals experience lifelong health, social and economic disadvantages. My research focuses on simple and innovative interventions early in life that can be easily implemented to improve the lifelong lung health of premature babies in WA and globally.

One crucial but under-appreciated process disrupted by premature birth is the development of the baby’s biological clock, called the circadian rhythm. My research aims to understand:

• the fundamental biology underpinning the role of circadian rhythm during lung development using translational models of preterm birth
• how aligning treatments with our circadian rhythms can enhance their efficacy.