Honorary Professor John Upham
Honorary Professor

John Upham

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Background

John Upham is a clinical scientist and physician with longstanding research interests in the immunological basis of asthma and chronic lung disease, the role of dendritic cells in allergy and virus infections of the lung, and the development of novel approaches to severe asthma treatment.

John is highly influential in his field, with > 195 publications, > 5,400 citations and an H index of 46. Since 2009, he has 112 publications (1st/senior author on 45%) with a Field-Weighted Citation Impact of 2.03. Moreover, 21.5% of publications are in the top 10% of most-cited publications worldwide (field-weighted). His publications have been cited in >20 different subject areas, demonstrating translation to fields other than Medicine. His research has international reach with citations in 80 countries (Scopus Dec 2018).

In the last 10 years, he has secured over $24 million in research funding. John has been awarded 8 NHMRC Project grants (4 as CIA in the last 5 years), 2 NHMRC CRE (“Closing the gap in Indigenous Lung Health” and “Severe Asthma”), and 1 NHMRC Development Grant. He currently holds NHMRC grants of $7.5 million, including $2.96 million as CIA. John was regularly an invited (9x), plenary (3x) and Chair (9x) at national and international conferences in the last 5 years. In recognition of his international standing and influence in the field, he was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (2004) and the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (2015).

Availability

Honorary Professor John Upham is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Cardiovascular medicine and haematology Clinical sciences Immunology Respiratory diseases

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Western Australia

Research interests

  • Immune function and susceptibility to virus infections in asthma and COPD

  • Plasmacytoid dendritic cells

    Type I interferon production Immune regulation

  • Severe asthma: towards evidence-based assessment and management

  • Innate immunity and bacterial infections of the lungs

    Bronchiectasis and chronic suppurative lung disease in children Lung health in Indigenous children

  • Allergy and immune tolerance

Research impacts

John is currently the President (2021-22) of the Thoracic Society of Australia and Zealand and is a key member of the NHMRC funded Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Asthma Treatable Traits. He has played a leadership role in organising and co-chairing three recent national symposia on severe asthma to facilitate research collaboration, build research and clinical capacity, and improve models of care for severe asthma. He has been a member of multiple advisory boards to pharmaceutical companies, both international and national (AstraZeneca, GSK, Novartis, Nycomed, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Mundipharma, Menarini), and has provided advice to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee. His research has provided new treatment options for severe asthma, and guided the appropriate length of antibiotic treatment for Indigenous children with pneumonia, protracted bacterial bronchitis and bronchiectasis. John's research will inform best use of influenza vaccination in COPD, and guide the use of conjugate vaccines to improve immunity to Haemophilus in Indigenous children. He contributed to Clinical Practice Guidelines for the use of omalizumab and mepolizumab in Australia and he was part of the working group that prepared a web-based Severe Asthma Toolkit for the Severe Asthma CRE.

Search Professor John Upham’s works on UQ eSpace

377 works between 1983 and 2025
All (377) Journal Article (230) Book Chapter (5) Conference Publication (142)

21 - 40 of 377 works

2023

Journal Article

Excess visceral adipose tissue is associated with poorer lung function and increased airway inflammation in adults with asthma

Valkenborghs, S.R., Wood, L.G., Callister, R., Upham, J.W., Grainge, C.L., Anderson, S., Williams, L.M., McLoughlin, R.F., Williams, E.J. and Scott, H.A. (2023). Excess visceral adipose tissue is associated with poorer lung function and increased airway inflammation in adults with asthma. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 82 (OCE2) E192. doi: 10.1017/s002966512300201x

Excess visceral adipose tissue is associated with poorer lung function and increased airway inflammation in adults with asthma

2022

Journal Article

Comparing the effect of acute moderate and vigorous exercise on inflammation in adults with asthma: a randomized controlled trial

Scott, Hayley A., Wood, Lisa G., Williams, Evan J., Weaver, Natasha and Upham, John W. (2022). Comparing the effect of acute moderate and vigorous exercise on inflammation in adults with asthma: a randomized controlled trial. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 19 (11), 1848-1855. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202109-1053OC

Comparing the effect of acute moderate and vigorous exercise on inflammation in adults with asthma: a randomized controlled trial

2022

Journal Article

The impact of meal dietary inflammatory index on exercise-induced changes in airway inflammation in adults with asthma

McDiarmid, Katrina P., Wood, Lisa G., Upham, John W., MacDonald-Wicks, Lesley K., Shivappa, Nitin, Hebert, James R. and Scott, Hayley A. (2022). The impact of meal dietary inflammatory index on exercise-induced changes in airway inflammation in adults with asthma. Nutrients, 14 (20) 4392, 1-11. doi: 10.3390/nu14204392

The impact of meal dietary inflammatory index on exercise-induced changes in airway inflammation in adults with asthma

2022

Conference Publication

Right heart strain assessment on CTPA following acute pulmonary embolism: interobserver variability between radiologists and thoracic physicians

Samaranayake, C., Craigie, M., Bell, P., Mccabe, C., Upham, J., Coucher, J. and Keir, G. (2022). Right heart strain assessment on CTPA following acute pulmonary embolism: interobserver variability between radiologists and thoracic physicians. 2022 ERS International Congress, Barcelona, Spain, 4-6 September 2022. Sheffield, United Kingdom: European Respiratory Society. doi: 10.1183/13993003.congress-2022.1823

Right heart strain assessment on CTPA following acute pulmonary embolism: interobserver variability between radiologists and thoracic physicians

2022

Conference Publication

Understanding how azithromycin reduces asthma exacerbations and the underlying mechanisms of macrolides

Jurak, L., Yang, I., Hill, M., Simpson, J. and Upham, J. (2022). Understanding how azithromycin reduces asthma exacerbations and the underlying mechanisms of macrolides. ERS International Congress 2022, Barcelona, Spain, 4-6 September 2022. Sheffield, United Kingdom: European Respiratory Society. doi: 10.1183/13993003.congress-2022.4372

Understanding how azithromycin reduces asthma exacerbations and the underlying mechanisms of macrolides

2022

Journal Article

Home Administration of Biologics for Severe Asthma—A Good Option for Some but Not All

Upham, John W. (2022). Home Administration of Biologics for Severe Asthma—A Good Option for Some but Not All. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 10 (9), 2324-2325. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2022.06.007

Home Administration of Biologics for Severe Asthma—A Good Option for Some but Not All

2022

Journal Article

Right heart strain assessment on CTPA following acute pulmonary embolism: interobserver variability between expert radiologists and physicians

Samaranayake, Chinthaka B., Craigie, Michelle, Kempny, Aleksander, Bell, Peter T., McCann, Andrew, Wahi, Sudhir, Upham, John W., McCabe, Colm, Coucher, John and Keir, Gregory (2022). Right heart strain assessment on CTPA following acute pulmonary embolism: interobserver variability between expert radiologists and physicians. Respiratory Medicine, 200 106928, 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2022.106928

Right heart strain assessment on CTPA following acute pulmonary embolism: interobserver variability between expert radiologists and physicians

2022

Journal Article

Characterisation of the Australian adult population living with asthma: severe - exacerbation frequency, long-term OCS use and adverse effects

Hancock, Kerry L, Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia, Blakey, John D, Hew, Mark, Chung, Li Ping, Cvetkovski, Biljana, Claxton, Scott, Del Fante, Peter, Denton, Eve, Doan, Joe, Ranasinghe, Kanchanamala, Morgan, Lucy, Sharma, Anita, Smith, Peter K, Stewart, Deb, Thompson, Philip J, Wiseman, Russell, Upham, John W, Yan, Kwok Y, Carter, Victoria, Dhillon, Kiranjeet, Heraud, Florian, Le, Thao, Vella, Rebecca and Price, David (2022). Characterisation of the Australian adult population living with asthma: severe - exacerbation frequency, long-term OCS use and adverse effects. Pragmatic and Observational Research, Volume 13, 43-58. doi: 10.2147/por.s360044

Characterisation of the Australian adult population living with asthma: severe - exacerbation frequency, long-term OCS use and adverse effects

2022

Journal Article

‘Breathing Fire’: impact of prolonged bushfire smoke exposure in people with severe asthma

Beyene, Tesfalidet, Harvey, Erin S., Van Buskirk, Joseph, McDonald, Vanessa M., Jensen, Megan E., Horvat, Jay C., Morgan, Geoffrey G., Zosky, Graeme R., Jegasothy, Edward, Hanigan, Ivan, Murphy, Vanessa E., Holliday, Elizabeth G., Vertigan, Anne E., Peters, Matthew, Farah, Claude S., Jenkins, Christine R., Katelaris, Constance H., Harrington, John, Langton, David, Bardin, Philip, Katsoulotos, Gregory P., Upham, John W., Chien, Jimmy, Bowden, Jeffrey J., Rimmer, Janet, Bell, Rose and Gibson, Peter G. (2022). ‘Breathing Fire’: impact of prolonged bushfire smoke exposure in people with severe asthma. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (12) 7419, 1-15. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127419

‘Breathing Fire’: impact of prolonged bushfire smoke exposure in people with severe asthma

2022

Journal Article

Influenza epidemiology in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2019: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN)

Cheng, Allen C., Dwyer, Dominic E., Holmes, Mark, Irving, Louis, Simpson, Graham, Senenayake, Sanjaya, Korman, Tony, Friedman, N Deborah, Cooley, Louise, Wark, Peter, Holwell, Anna, Bowler, Simon, Upham, John, Fatovich, Daniel M., Waterer, Grant, Blyth, Christopher C., Crawford, Nigel, Buttery, Jim, Marshall, Helen S., Clark, Julia E., Francis, Joshua, Macartney, Kristine, Kotsimbos, Tom and Kelly, Paul (2022). Influenza epidemiology in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2019: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN). Communicable Diseases Intelligence, 46. doi: 10.33321/cdi.2022.46.14

Influenza epidemiology in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2019: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN)

2022

Journal Article

Extended versus standard antibiotic course duration in children <5 years of age hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia in high-risk settings: four-week outcomes of a multicenter, double-blind, parallel, superiority randomized controlled trial

McCallum, Gabrielle B., Fong, Siew M., Grimwood, Keith, Nathan, Anna M., Byrnes, Catherine A., Ooi, Mong H., Nachiappan, Nachal, Saari, Noorazlina, Morris, Peter S., Yeo, Tsin W., Ware, Robert S., Elogius, Blueren W., Oguoma, Victor M., Yerkovich, Stephanie T., de Bruyne, Jessie, Lawrence, Katrina A., Lee, Bilawara, Upham, John W., Torzillo, Paul J. and Chang, Anne B. (2022). Extended versus standard antibiotic course duration in children <5 years of age hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia in high-risk settings: four-week outcomes of a multicenter, double-blind, parallel, superiority randomized controlled trial. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 41 (7), 549-555. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003558

Extended versus standard antibiotic course duration in children <5 years of age hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia in high-risk settings: four-week outcomes of a multicenter, double-blind, parallel, superiority randomized controlled trial

2022

Journal Article

Surveillance for severe influenza and COVID-19 in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2020: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN)

Begum, Husna, Dwyer, Dominic E., Holmes, Mark, Irving, Louis, Simpson, Graham, Senenayake, Sanjaya, Korman, Tony, Friedman, N Deborah, Cooley, Louise, Wark, Peter, Bowler, Simon, Kok, Jen, Upham, John, Fatovich, Daniel M., Waterer, Grant, Macartney, Kristine, Blyth, Christopher C., Crawford, Nigel, Buttery, Jim, Marshall, Helen S., Clark, Julia E., Francis, Joshua R., Kotsimbos, Tom, Kelly, Paul and Cheng, Allen (2022). Surveillance for severe influenza and COVID-19 in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2020: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN). Communicable Diseases Intelligence, 46. doi: 10.33321/cdi.2022.46.13

Surveillance for severe influenza and COVID-19 in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2020: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN)

2022

Journal Article

Philip Morris International buys inhaler company Vectura to expand reach in electronic cigarettes

Carson‐Chahhoud, Kristin V., Thompson, Bruce R., Upham, John W. and Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (2022). Philip Morris International buys inhaler company Vectura to expand reach in electronic cigarettes. Respirology, 27 (5), 328-330. doi: 10.1111/resp.14244

Philip Morris International buys inhaler company Vectura to expand reach in electronic cigarettes

2022

Journal Article

Reply to “‘Nothing about us without us’ — What matters to patients with severe asthma?”

Upham, John W., Le Lievre, Chantal, Jackson, David J., Masoli, Matthew, Wechsler, Michael E. and Price, David B. (2022). Reply to “‘Nothing about us without us’ — What matters to patients with severe asthma?”. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 10 (3), 891-891. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.12.036

Reply to “‘Nothing about us without us’ — What matters to patients with severe asthma?”

2022

Journal Article

Direct oral anticoagulants for cancer associated venous thromboembolisms: a systematic review and network meta-analysis: DOACs for VTE in Cancer

Samaranayake, Chinthaka B., Anderson, James, McCabe, Colm, Zahir, Syeda Farah, Upham, John and Keir, Gregory (2022). Direct oral anticoagulants for cancer associated venous thromboembolisms: a systematic review and network meta-analysis: DOACs for VTE in Cancer. Internal Medicine Journal, 52 (2) 15049, 272-281. doi: 10.1111/imj.15049

Direct oral anticoagulants for cancer associated venous thromboembolisms: a systematic review and network meta-analysis: DOACs for VTE in Cancer

2022

Journal Article

Vaccine strain affects seroconversion after influenza vaccination in COPD patients and healthy older people

Snape, Natale, Anderson, Gary P., Irving, Louis B., Jarnicki, Andrew G., Hurt, Aeron C., Collins, Tina, Xi, Yang and Upham, John W. (2022). Vaccine strain affects seroconversion after influenza vaccination in COPD patients and healthy older people. npj Vaccines, 7 (1) 8, 8. doi: 10.1038/s41541-021-00422-4

Vaccine strain affects seroconversion after influenza vaccination in COPD patients and healthy older people

2022

Journal Article

Real world biologic use and switch patterns in severe asthma: Data from the International Severe Asthma Registry and the US CHRONICLE Study

Menzies-Gow, Andrew N., McBrien, Claire, Unni, Bindhu, Porsbjerg, Celeste M., Al-Ahmad, Mona, Ambrose, Christopher S., Dahl Assing, Karin, von Bülow, Anna, Busby, John, Cosio, Borja G., Fitzgerald, J. Mark, Garcia Gil, Esther, Hansen, Susanne, Aheaney, Liam G., Hew, Mark, Jackson, David J., Kallieri, Maria, Loukides, Stelios, Lugogo, Njira L., Papaioannou, Andriana I., Larenas-Linnemann, Désirée, Moore, Wendy C., Perez-De-llano, Luis A., Rasmussen, Linda M., Schmid, Johannes M., Siddiqui, Salman, Alacqua, Marianna, Tran, Trung N., Suppli Ulrik, Charlotte ... Price, David B. (2022). Real world biologic use and switch patterns in severe asthma: Data from the International Severe Asthma Registry and the US CHRONICLE Study. Journal of Asthma and Allergy, 15, 63-78. doi: 10.2147/JAA.S328653

Real world biologic use and switch patterns in severe asthma: Data from the International Severe Asthma Registry and the US CHRONICLE Study

2022

Journal Article

Global variability in administrative approval prescription criteria for biologic therapy in severe asthma

Porsbjerg, Celeste M., Menzies-Gow, Andrew N., Tran, Trung N., Murray, Ruth B., Unni, Bindhu, Audrey Ang, Shi Ling, Alacqua, Marianna, Al-Ahmad, Mona, Al-Lehebi, Riyad, Altraja, Alan, Belevskiy, Andrey S., Björnsdóttir, Unnur S., Bourdin, Arnaud, Busby, John, Canonica, G. Walter, Christoff, George C., Cosio, Borja G., Costello, Richard W., FitzGerald, J. Mark, Fonseca, João A., Hansen, Susanne, Heaney, Liam G., Heffler, Enrico, Hew, Mark, Iwanaga, Takashi, Jackson, Daniel J., Kocks, Janwillem W.H., Kallieri, Maria, Bruce Ko, Hsin-Kuo ... van Boven, Job F.M. (2022). Global variability in administrative approval prescription criteria for biologic therapy in severe asthma. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 10 (5), 1202-1216.e23. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.12.027

Global variability in administrative approval prescription criteria for biologic therapy in severe asthma

2021

Journal Article

Whole transcriptome analysis of high and low IFN‐α producers reveals differential response patterns following rhinovirus stimulation

Murray, Liisa M., Thillaiyampalam, Gayathri, Xi, Yang, Cristino, Alexandre S. and Upham, John W. (2021). Whole transcriptome analysis of high and low IFN‐α producers reveals differential response patterns following rhinovirus stimulation. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 10 (11) e1356, 1-17. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1356

Whole transcriptome analysis of high and low IFN‐α producers reveals differential response patterns following rhinovirus stimulation

2021

Journal Article

Oral corticosteroids stewardship for asthma in adults and adolescents: A position paper from the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand

Blakey, John, Chung, Li Ping, McDonald, Vanessa M., Ruane, Laurence, Gornall, John, Barton, Chris, Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia, Harrington, John, Hew, Mark, Holland, Anne E., Hopkins, Trudy, Jayaram, Lata, Reddel, Helen, Upham, John W., Gibson, Peter G. and Bardin, Philip (2021). Oral corticosteroids stewardship for asthma in adults and adolescents: A position paper from the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand. Respirology, 26 (12), 1112-1130. doi: 10.1111/resp.14147

Oral corticosteroids stewardship for asthma in adults and adolescents: A position paper from the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand

Past funding

  • 2020 - 2021
    Reducing acute severe respiratory events in health care workers during the Covid-19 pandemic with OM85
    NHMRC MRFF Coronavirus Research Response
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2013
    The airway epithelium in paediatric respiratory diseases
    UWA-UQ Bilateral Research Collaboration Award
    Open grant

Availability

Honorary Professor John Upham is:
Available for supervision

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Available projects

  • Immune dysregulation in asthma and host defence against respiratory viruses

    Our program of translational research is focussed on the study of immune function and dysfunction in asthma, and host defence against respiratory viruses, especially human rhinoviruses. We are interested in the mechanisms leading to excessive airway inflammation in asthma, and why people with asthma are unusually susceptible to asthma attacks during respiratory viral infections. Our aim is to discover new therapeutic targets in severe asthma.

    Research Projects

    • The function of key immune cells such as antigen presenting cells and NK cells
    • The role of polarizing cytokines such as IL-33, IL-25 and TSLP in altering host defence against viruses.
    • How macrolide antibiotics alter immune function

Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Honorary Professor John Upham directly for media enquiries about:

  • Allergies
  • Asthma
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • Dendritic cells
  • Immunity
  • Lung infections
  • Lungs - virus infections
  • Virus infections of the lung

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