In 2009, the MPF donated a total of $110,000 to the Alfred Hospital for Transplant Research. 

GRANT NO.19

The MPF assigned $20,000 to a Lung Transplant Research Fellow in the second half of 2009. This grant allowed Dr Dominic Keating (current Irish visiting Respiratory Fellow) to extend his current appointment to ensure completion of his work.

GRANT NO.18

$20,000 was assigned by the Margaret Pratt Foundation towards the salary of a Lung Transplant Research Fellow to work on two current lung rejection projects. The first project involved working with Dr Glen Westall and is a long term follow up of a study which looks at how infections might lead to chronic rejection. The second study is a collaborative project with the Toronto Lung Transplant Program which analyses long term follow up results of single lung transplantation.

GRANT NO.17

$45,000 was assigned by the Margaret Pratt Foundation towards the salary of a Lung Transplant Clinical Research Co-ordinator. This person collected, collated and analysed the clinical data required for the above project as well as for other existing chronic lung rejection projects.

GRANT NO.16

$25,000 was donated by the Margaret Pratt Foundation to fund a PhD Scholarship. The recipient of this scholarship worked with Associate Prof Tom Kotsimbos to expand preliminary work on how the injured lung allograft can repair itself. This project looked specifically at why transplanted lungs may not recover normally after injury or viral infection.

GRANT NO.15

The MPF has provided substantial financial support in this work looking into the factors leading to chronic lung rejection. As a result of these studies we have been able to show (part of Dr Tanya McWilliams PhD thesis) that the levels of an important chemical signal-TGF beta are increased in the wall of airways well before there is a measurable effect on lung function. Further studies presently focusing on the role of endothelin, a stimulator of TGF beta production, may develop the scientific rationale for a novel therapeutic strategy for chronic lung rejection.

$30,000 funding for the continuation of immunohistochemistry work.

GRANT NO.14

$30,000 as part salary for Dr Nicole Mifsud who is investigating the relationship between viral infections and immune response in lung transplant recipients.

It is believed that these investigations will lead to optimal immunosuppressive and anti – viral strategies that can strike the right balance in each individual lung transplant recipient.

GRANT NO.13

$25,000 as part funding of a research assistant to support Dr Ling Zheng and Nicole Mifsud’s activities. Ling has now received a Pharmaceutical award to proceed with her research freeing the MPF to fund other researchers.

$5,000 for a dynamap which monitors blood pressure, pulse and O2 saturation during 6 minute walk tests which are a key end point in pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary fibrosis studies.

GRANT NO.12

$25,000 to Nicole Mifsud who has completed her PhD and is doing a Post Doc in the Alfred Research laboratories. She will be assisting A. Prof Tom Kotsimbos with his project looking at the relationship between viral infections and the immune response in lung transplant recipients.

The MPF has undertaken to provide funding for Nicole in 2008 so as to secure her position over the next 2 years.

The Margaret Pratt Foundation donated $52,000.00 to the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne supporting the following:

GRANT NO.11

DR LING ZHENG: The Foundation continued to support Dr Ling Zheng who is pivotal to the research efforts of the lung transplant research unit as Laboratory Manager.

Ling's work is progressing several fronts. She has recently been a recipient of an international endothelin science research award sponsored by Actelion Pharmaceuticals. This has allowed us to study the potential role for a mediator called endothelin in chronic allograft rejection. This will compliment the continuing in-vitro work. We have discovered that endothelin is made in quite significant amounts in co-culture systems utilising lung transplant recipient cultured airways epithelial cells as well as subsequently derived recipient mononuclear cells. We are thus looking in biopsies of patients who have bronchiolitis obliterans to see whether there is over expression of both endothelin 1 and the relevant receptors to see if there is any plausibility in the role of the endothelin system in the development of BOS. We know that endothelin 1 is an intermediary in the action of TGF f1 so that the story has significant biological plausibility. 

Over the next six months Ling will continue to harvest airway epithelral cells where possible from lung transplant recipients so that we can complete the initial 8 patient study looking at co-culture of airway epithelial cells and donor mononuclear cells. As always this is proving to be very difficult. We have discovered that if there is any airway colonisation with bacterial or fungus it makes it almost impossible culture airway epithelial cells. Notwithstanding this we still believe that will complete this in the next six months. In the meantime Ling will be preparing section and staining for endothelin and endothelin receptors on tissue work we already have following people through to the development of BOS to see whether endothelin is an important mediator. If it is, with the availability now of endothelin antagonists this is another potential therapeutic approach we could explore. 

GRANT NO.10

ASSOC. PROF TOM KOTSIMBOS: A. Prof Kotsimbos’s project is unraveling the interrelationships between lung transplant outcome, immune response and virus activation and their implications in chronic lung rejection.

GRANT NO.9

CARDIAC SURGICAL RESEARCH UNIT: A project to improve preservation of donor lungs using a variety of possible antioxidants which can be given to the donor and the recipient. These include Coenzyme Q10, the antioxidant N- acetyl cystine, the antifibrinolysin aprotonin. This project has continued through 2006 so that techniques of preserving donor lungs are much better; thus ensuring that they are delivered to the recipient in the best possible state.