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

376 works between 1983 and 2025
All (376) Journal Article (229) Book Chapter (5) Conference Publication (142)

41 - 60 of 376 works

2021

Journal Article

Use of direct oral anticoagulants for acute pulmonary embolisms in obesity: a propensity matched multicenter case-control study

Samaranayake, Chinthaka B., Keir, Gregory, Slader, Simon A. A., Tseng, T., Tran, Khoa, Anderson, James, McCann, Andrew, McCabe, Colm and Upham, John W. (2021). Use of direct oral anticoagulants for acute pulmonary embolisms in obesity: a propensity matched multicenter case-control study. ERJ Open Research, 7 (3) 00379-2021, 00379-2021. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00379-2021

Use of direct oral anticoagulants for acute pulmonary embolisms in obesity: a propensity matched multicenter case-control study

2021

Journal Article

Mepolizumab and oral corticosteroid stewardship: data from the Australian Mepolizumab Registry

Thomas, Dennis, Harvey, Erin S., McDonald, Vanessa M., Stevens, Sean, Upham, John W., Katelaris, Constance H., Kritikos, Vicky, Gillman, Andrew, Harrington, John, Hew, Mark, Bardin, Philip, Peters, Matthew, Reynolds, Paul N., Langton, David, Baraket, Melissa, Bowden, Jeffrey J., Bowler, Simon, Chien, Jimmy, Chung, Li Ping, Farah, Claude S., Grainge, Christopher, Jenkins, Christine, Katsoulotos, Gregory P., Lee, Joy, Radhakrishna, Naghmeh, Reddel, Helen K., Rimmer, Janet, Sivakumaran, Pathmanathan, Wark, Peter A.B. and Gibson, Peter G. (2021). Mepolizumab and oral corticosteroid stewardship: data from the Australian Mepolizumab Registry. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 9 (7), 2715-2724.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.01.028

Mepolizumab and oral corticosteroid stewardship: data from the Australian Mepolizumab Registry

2021

Journal Article

Add-on azithromycin reduces sputum cytokines in non-eosinophilic asthma: An AMAZES substudy

Shukla, Shakti D, Taylor, Steven L, Gibson, Peter G, Barker, Daniel, Upham, John W, Yang, Ian A, Reynolds, Paul N, Hodge, Sandra, James, Alan L, Rogers, Geraint B and Simpson, Jodie L (2021). Add-on azithromycin reduces sputum cytokines in non-eosinophilic asthma: An AMAZES substudy. Thorax, 76 (7), 733-736. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-216331

Add-on azithromycin reduces sputum cytokines in non-eosinophilic asthma: An AMAZES substudy

2021

Journal Article

Sputum TNF markers are increased in neutrophilic and severe asthma and are reduced by azithromycin treatment

Niessen, Natalie M., Gibson, Peter G., Baines, Katherine J., Barker, Daniel, Yang, Ian A., Upham, John W., Reynolds, Paul N., Hodge, Sandra, James, Alan L., Jenkins, Christine, Peters, Matthew J., Marks, Guy B., Baraket, Melissa, Simpson, Jodie L. and Fricker, Michael (2021). Sputum TNF markers are increased in neutrophilic and severe asthma and are reduced by azithromycin treatment. Allergy, 76 (7) all.14768, 2090-2101. doi: 10.1111/all.14768

Sputum TNF markers are increased in neutrophilic and severe asthma and are reduced by azithromycin treatment

2021

Journal Article

Duration of amoxicillin-clavulanate for protracted bacterial bronchitis in children (DACS): a multi-centre, double blind, randomised controlled trial

Ruffles, Tom J. C., Goyal, Vikas, Marchant, Julie M., Masters, I. Brent, Yerkovich, Stephanie, Buntain, Helen, Cook, Anne, Schultz, Andre, Upham, John W., Champion, Anita, Versteegh, Lesley and Chang, Anne B. (2021). Duration of amoxicillin-clavulanate for protracted bacterial bronchitis in children (DACS): a multi-centre, double blind, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 9 (10), 1121-1129. doi: 10.1016/s2213-2600(21)00104-1

Duration of amoxicillin-clavulanate for protracted bacterial bronchitis in children (DACS): a multi-centre, double blind, randomised controlled trial

2021

Journal Article

Outcomes of protracted bacterial bronchitis in children: a 5-year prospective cohort study

Ruffles, Tom J.C., Marchant, Julie M., Masters, Ian B., Yerkovich, Stephanie T., Wurzel, Danielle F., Gibson, Peter G., Busch, Greta, Baines, Katherine J., Simpson, Jodie L., Smith-Vaughan, Heidi C., Pizzutto, Susan J., Buntain, Helen M., Hodge, Gregory, Hodge, Sandra, Upham, John W. and Chang, Anne B. (2021). Outcomes of protracted bacterial bronchitis in children: a 5-year prospective cohort study. Respirology, 26 (3), 241-248. doi: 10.1111/resp.13950

Outcomes of protracted bacterial bronchitis in children: a 5-year prospective cohort study

2021

Journal Article

The cost-effectiveness of azithromycin in reducing exacerbations in uncontrolled asthma

O Neill, Ciaran, Gibson, Peter G., Heaney, Liam G., Upham, John W., Yang, Ian A., Reynolds, Paul N., Hodge, Sandra, Jenkins, Christine R., Peters, Matthew, Marks, Guy B., James, Alan L. and Simpson, Jodie L. (2021). The cost-effectiveness of azithromycin in reducing exacerbations in uncontrolled asthma. European Respiratory Journal, 57 (2) 2002436, 2002436. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02436-2020

The cost-effectiveness of azithromycin in reducing exacerbations in uncontrolled asthma

2021

Journal Article

Severe asthma assessment, management and the organisation of care in Australia and New Zealand: expert forum roundtable meetings

Maltby, Steven, McDonald, Vanessa M., Upham, John W., Bowler, Simon D., Chung, Li Ping, Denton, Eve J., Fingleton, James, Garrett, Jeffrey, Grainge, Christopher L., Hew, Mark, James, Alan L., Jenkins, Christine, Katsoulotos, Gregory, King, Gregory G., Langton, David, Marks, Guy B., Menzies‐Gow, Andrew, Niven, Robert M., Peters, Matthew, Reddel, Helen K., Thien, Francis, Thomas, Paul S., Wark, Peter A. B., Yap, Elaine, Gibson, Peter G. and , (2021). Severe asthma assessment, management and the organisation of care in Australia and New Zealand: expert forum roundtable meetings. Internal Medicine Journal, 51 (2) imj.14806, 169-180. doi: 10.1111/imj.14806

Severe asthma assessment, management and the organisation of care in Australia and New Zealand: expert forum roundtable meetings

2021

Journal Article

Thrombolysis for massive pulmonary embolisms in morbid obesity: a multisite case–control study

Samaranayake, Chinthaka B., Keir, Gregory, McCabe, Colm, Anderson, James, Tran, Khoa and Upham, John W. (2021). Thrombolysis for massive pulmonary embolisms in morbid obesity: a multisite case–control study. ERJ Open Research, 7 (1) 00762, 1-4. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00762-2020

Thrombolysis for massive pulmonary embolisms in morbid obesity: a multisite case–control study

2020

Journal Article

Natural killer cells and host defense against human rhinoviruses is partially dependent on type I IFN signaling

van der Heide, Saskia L., Xi, Yang and Upham, John W. (2020). Natural killer cells and host defense against human rhinoviruses is partially dependent on type I IFN signaling. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 10 510619, 1-12. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.510619

Natural killer cells and host defense against human rhinoviruses is partially dependent on type I IFN signaling

2020

Journal Article

Cumulative dispensing of high oral corticosteroid doses for treating asthma in Australia

Hew, Mark, McDonald, Vanessa M, Bardin, Phil G, Chung, Li Ping, Farah, Claude S, Barnard, Amanda, Cooper, Mark S, Gibson, Peter G and Upham, John W (2020). Cumulative dispensing of high oral corticosteroid doses for treating asthma in Australia. Medical Journal of Australia, 213 (7), 316-320. doi: 10.5694/mja2.50758

Cumulative dispensing of high oral corticosteroid doses for treating asthma in Australia

2020

Journal Article

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells and asthma: a review of current knowledge

Xi, Yang and Upham, John W. (2020). Plasmacytoid dendritic cells and asthma: a review of current knowledge. Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine, 14 (11), 1095-`1106. doi: 10.1080/17476348.2020.1803741

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells and asthma: a review of current knowledge

2020

Journal Article

HMGB1 amplifies ILC2-induced type-2 inflammation and airway smooth muscle remodelling

Loh, Zhixuan, Simpson, Jennifer, Ullah, Ashik, Zhang, Vivian, Gan, Wan J., Lynch, Jason P., Werder, Rhiannon B., Sikder, Al Amin, Lane, Katie, Sim, Choon Boon, Porrello, Enzo, Mazzone, Stuart B., Sly, Peter D., Steptoe, Raymond J., Spann, Kirsten M., Sukkar, Maria B., Upham, John W. and Phipps, Simon (2020). HMGB1 amplifies ILC2-induced type-2 inflammation and airway smooth muscle remodelling. PLoS Pathogens, 16 (7) e1008651, 1-21. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008651

HMGB1 amplifies ILC2-induced type-2 inflammation and airway smooth muscle remodelling

2020

Journal Article

How do biologicals and other novel therapies effect clinically used biomarkers in severe asthma?

Upham, John W. and Jurak, Lisa M. (2020). How do biologicals and other novel therapies effect clinically used biomarkers in severe asthma?. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 50 (9) cea.13694, 994-1006. doi: 10.1111/cea.13694

How do biologicals and other novel therapies effect clinically used biomarkers in severe asthma?

2020

Journal Article

Risks for cold frequency vary by sex: role of asthma, age, TLR7 and leukocyte subsets

Murray, Liisa M., Yerkovich, Stephanie T., Ferreira, Manuel A. and Upham, John W. (2020). Risks for cold frequency vary by sex: role of asthma, age, TLR7 and leukocyte subsets. European Respiratory Journal, 56 (4) 1902453, 1902453. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02453-2019

Risks for cold frequency vary by sex: role of asthma, age, TLR7 and leukocyte subsets

2020

Journal Article

Sphingosine signaling dysfunction in airway cells as a potential contributor to progression from protracted bacterial bronchitis to bronchiectasis in children

Hodge, Sandra, Macowan, Matthew, Liu, Hong, Hamon, Rhys, Chen, Alice C.-H., Marchant, Julie M., Pizzutto, Susan J., Upham, John W. and Chang, Anne B. (2020). Sphingosine signaling dysfunction in airway cells as a potential contributor to progression from protracted bacterial bronchitis to bronchiectasis in children. Pediatric Pulmonology, 55 (6), 1414-1423. doi: 10.1002/ppul.24728

Sphingosine signaling dysfunction in airway cells as a potential contributor to progression from protracted bacterial bronchitis to bronchiectasis in children

2020

Journal Article

Respiratory syncytial virus infection promotes necroptosis and HMGB1 release by airway epithelial cells

Simpson, Jennifer, Loh, Zhixuan, Ullah, Md Ashik, Lynch, Jason P., Werder, Rhiannon B., Collinson, Natasha, Zhang, Vivian, Dondelinger, Yves, Bertrand, Mathieu J M, Everard, Mark L., Blyth, Christopher C., Hartel, Gunter, Van Oosterhout, Antoon J., Gough, Peter J., Bertin, John, Upham, John W., Spann, Kirsten M. and Phipps, Simon (2020). Respiratory syncytial virus infection promotes necroptosis and HMGB1 release by airway epithelial cells. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 201 (11), 1358-1371. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201906-1149OC

Respiratory syncytial virus infection promotes necroptosis and HMGB1 release by airway epithelial cells

2020

Conference Publication

Oral corticosteroid use for asthma in Australia

Hew, M., McDonald, , Bardin, P., Chung, L., Farah, C., Barnard, A., Cooper, M., Gibson, P. and Upham, J. (2020). Oral corticosteroid use for asthma in Australia. The Australia & New Zealand Society of Respiratory Science and The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (ANZSRS/TSANZ) Annual Scientific Meeting for Leaders in Lung Health & Respiratory Science, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 27–31 March 2020. Richmond, VIC, Australia: Wiley-Blackwell .

Oral corticosteroid use for asthma in Australia

2020

Conference Publication

Dietary fibre improves antibody responses after influenza vaccine in COPD patients and healthy older people

Snape, N., Lai, R., Jarnicki, A., Irving, L., Anderson, G., Wood, L. and Upham, J. (2020). Dietary fibre improves antibody responses after influenza vaccine in COPD patients and healthy older people. The Australia & New Zealand Society of Respiratory Science and The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (ANZSRS/TSANZ) Annual Scientific Meeting for Leaders in Lung Health & Respiratory Science, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 27–31 March 2020. Richmond, VIC, Australia: Wiley-Blackwell.

Dietary fibre improves antibody responses after influenza vaccine in COPD patients and healthy older people

2020

Journal Article

Mepolizumab effectiveness and identification of super-responders in severe asthma

Harvey, Erin S., Langton, David, Katelaris, Constance, Stevens, Sean, Farah, Claude S., Gillman, Andrew, Harrington, John, Hew, Mark, Kritikos, Vicky, Radhakrishna, Naghmeh, Bardin, Philip, Peters, Matthew, Reynolds, Paul N., Upham, John W., Baraket, Melissa, Bowler, Simon, Bowden, Jeffrey, Chien, Jimmy, Chung, Li Ping, Grainge, Christopher, Jenkins, Christine, Katsoulotos, Gregory P., Lee, Joy, McDonald, Vanessa M., Reddel, Helen K., Rimmer, Janet, Wark, Peter A B and Gibson, Peter G. (2020). Mepolizumab effectiveness and identification of super-responders in severe asthma. The European Respiratory Journal, 55 (5) 1902420, 1902420. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02420-2019

Mepolizumab effectiveness and identification of super-responders in severe asthma

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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