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)

61 - 80 of 376 works

2020

Journal Article

Asthma in children and adults – what are the differences and what can they tell us about asthma?

Turner, Steve and Upham, John W. (2020). Asthma in children and adults – what are the differences and what can they tell us about asthma?. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 8 141, 141. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00141

Asthma in children and adults – what are the differences and what can they tell us about asthma?

2020

Journal Article

Severe Asthma Toolkit: An online resource for multidisciplinary health professionals - Needs assessment, development process and user analytics with survey feedback

Maltby, Steven, Gibson, Peter G., Reddel, Helen K., Smith, Lorraine, Wark, Peter A. B., King, Gregory G., Upham, John W., Clark, Vanessa L., Hew, Mark, Owens, Louisa, Oo, Stephen, James, Alan L., Thompson, Bruce, Marks, Guy B. and McDonald, Vanessa M. (2020). Severe Asthma Toolkit: An online resource for multidisciplinary health professionals - Needs assessment, development process and user analytics with survey feedback. BMJ Open, 10 (3) e032877, 1-10. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032877

Severe Asthma Toolkit: An online resource for multidisciplinary health professionals - Needs assessment, development process and user analytics with survey feedback

2020

Journal Article

Long-lived regulatory T cells generated during severe bronchiolitis in infancy influence later progression to asthma

Lynch, Jason P., Werder, Rhiannon B., Curren, Bodie F., Sikder, Md. Al Amin, Ullah, Ashik, Sebina, Ismail, Rashid, Ridwan B., Zhang, Vivian, Upham, John W., Hill, Geoff R., Steptoe, Raymond J. and Phipps, Simon (2020). Long-lived regulatory T cells generated during severe bronchiolitis in infancy influence later progression to asthma. Mucosal Immunology, 13 (4), 652-664. doi: 10.1038/s41385-020-0268-8

Long-lived regulatory T cells generated during severe bronchiolitis in infancy influence later progression to asthma

2020

Journal Article

Biogeographical variation in specific IgE recognition of temperate and subtropical grass pollen allergens in allergic rhinitis patients : Regional IgE specificity for grass pollens

Kailaivasan, Thina H, Timbrell, Victoria L, Solley, Graham, Smith, William B, McLean-Tooke, Andrew, van Nunen, Sheryl, Smith, Peter, Upham, John W, Langguth, Daman and Davies, Janet M (2020). Biogeographical variation in specific IgE recognition of temperate and subtropical grass pollen allergens in allergic rhinitis patients : Regional IgE specificity for grass pollens. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 9 (2) e01103, e01103. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1103

Biogeographical variation in specific IgE recognition of temperate and subtropical grass pollen allergens in allergic rhinitis patients : Regional IgE specificity for grass pollens

2020

Journal Article

The impact of new universal child influenza programs in Australia: Vaccine coverage, effectiveness and disease epidemiology in hospitalised children in 2018

Blyth, Christopher C., Cheng, Allen C., Crawford, Nigel W., Clark, Julia E., Buttery, Jim P., Marshall, Helen S., Francis, Joshua R., McRae, Jocelynne, Kotsimbos, Tom, Kelly, Paul M., Macartney, Kristine K., on behalf of the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS), Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN) Collaboration and Upham, John (2020). The impact of new universal child influenza programs in Australia: Vaccine coverage, effectiveness and disease epidemiology in hospitalised children in 2018. Vaccine, 38 (13), 2779-2787. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.02.031

The impact of new universal child influenza programs in Australia: Vaccine coverage, effectiveness and disease epidemiology in hospitalised children in 2018

2020

Conference Publication

FC Gamma receptor (FCGR) I expression is increased in severe asthma particularly in participants with non-eosinophilic airway inflammation

Gupta, S., Fricker, M., Xi, Y., Grainge, C., Upham, J. and Simpson, J. (2020). FC Gamma receptor (FCGR) I expression is increased in severe asthma particularly in participants with non-eosinophilic airway inflammation. TSANZSRS 2020 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, QLD Australia, 27-31 March 2020. Hoboken, NJ USA: Wiley.

FC Gamma receptor (FCGR) I expression is increased in severe asthma particularly in participants with non-eosinophilic airway inflammation

2020

Conference Publication

Factors associated with respiratory infection frequency in healthy and asthmatic adults differ between women and men

Upham, J., Murray, L. and Xi, Y. (2020). Factors associated with respiratory infection frequency in healthy and asthmatic adults differ between women and men. TSANZSRS 2020 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, QLD Australia, 27-31 March 2020. Richmond, VIC Australia: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia.

Factors associated with respiratory infection frequency in healthy and asthmatic adults differ between women and men

2020

Conference Publication

Blocking endogenous IL-22 is associated with reduced viral load and improved lung pathology in respiratory viral infections

Wang, R., Moniruzzaman, M., Wang, K., Upham, J. W., McGuckin, M., Phipps, S. and Hasnain, S. Z. (2020). Blocking endogenous IL-22 is associated with reduced viral load and improved lung pathology in respiratory viral infections. International Conference of the American-Thoracic-Society (ATS), Online, 10 November 2020. New York, NY, United States: American Thoracic Society. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2020.201.1_meetingabstracts.a6530

Blocking endogenous IL-22 is associated with reduced viral load and improved lung pathology in respiratory viral infections

2020

Conference Publication

Harnessing the therapeutic potential of interleukin-22 in neonatal respiratory viral infection

Hasnain, S., Wang, R., Taylor, S., Wong, K. Y., Moniruzzaman, M., Upham, J., Spann, K., Mcguckin, M. A., Burr, L. and Phipps, S. (2020). Harnessing the therapeutic potential of interleukin-22 in neonatal respiratory viral infection. TSANZSRS 2020 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 Publishing Asia. doi: 10.1111/resp.13777

Harnessing the therapeutic potential of interleukin-22 in neonatal respiratory viral infection

2019

Journal Article

Influenza epidemiology in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2018: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN)

Cheng, Allen C., Holmes, Mark, Dwyer, Dominic E., Senanayake, Sanjaya, Cooley, Louise, Irving, Louis B., Simpson, Graham, Korman, Tony, Macartney, Kristine, Friedman, N. Deborah, Wark, Peter, Howell, Anna, Blyth, Christopher C., Crawford, Nigel, Buttery, Jim, Bowler, Simon, Upham, John W., Waterer, Grant W., Kotsimbos, Tom and Kelly, Paul M. (2019). Influenza epidemiology in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2018: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN). Communicable Diseases Intelligence Quarterly Report, 43. doi: 10.33321/cdi.2019.43.48

Influenza epidemiology in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2018: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN)

2019

Journal Article

Rational oral corticosteroid use in adult severe asthma: a narrative review

Chung, Li Ping, Upham, John W., Bardin, Philip G. and Hew, Mark (2019). Rational oral corticosteroid use in adult severe asthma: a narrative review. Respirology, 25 (2) resp.13730, 161-172. doi: 10.1111/resp.13730

Rational oral corticosteroid use in adult severe asthma: a narrative review

2019

Journal Article

The effect of glucocorticoids on Thrombospondin-1, Osteocalcin and the Thrombospondin-1:Osteocalcin ratio in humans

Cesana-Nigro, Nicole, Keshvari, Sahar, Barclay, Johanna L., Sorbello, Jane, Upham, John W., Benham, Helen, Anderson, Stephen T., Steiger, Natasha, Prins, Johannes B. and Inder, Warrick J. (2019). The effect of glucocorticoids on Thrombospondin-1, Osteocalcin and the Thrombospondin-1:Osteocalcin ratio in humans. Clinical Endocrinology, 91 (6) cen.14108, 728-736. doi: 10.1111/cen.14108

The effect of glucocorticoids on Thrombospondin-1, Osteocalcin and the Thrombospondin-1:Osteocalcin ratio in humans

2019

Journal Article

Efficacy of azithromycin in severe asthma from the AMAZES randomised trial

Gibson, Peter G., Yang, Ian A., Upham, John W., Reynolds, Paul N., Hodge, Sandra, James, Alan L., Jenkins, Christine, Peters, Matthew J., Marks, Guy B., Baraket, Melissa, Powell, Heather and Simpson, Jodie L. (2019). Efficacy of azithromycin in severe asthma from the AMAZES randomised trial. ERJ Open Research, 5 (4) 00056-2019, 00056-2019. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00056-2019

Efficacy of azithromycin in severe asthma from the AMAZES randomised trial

2019

Journal Article

Airway pharmacology: treatment options and algorithms to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Kerstjens, Huib A. M., Upham, John W. and Yang, Ian A. (2019). Airway pharmacology: treatment options and algorithms to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Journal of Thoracic Disease, 11 (S17), S2200-S2209. doi: 10.21037/jtd.2019.10.57

Airway pharmacology: treatment options and algorithms to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

2019

Conference Publication

Azithromycin add-on therapy reduces airway inflammation and extracellular DNA: An AMAZES sub-study

Simpson, Jodie, Barker, Daniel, Yang, Ian, Upham, John, Reynolds, Paul, Hodge, Sandra, James, Alan, Jenkins, Christine, Peters, Matthew, Marks, Guy, Baraket, Melissa and Gibson, Peter (2019). Azithromycin add-on therapy reduces airway inflammation and extracellular DNA: An AMAZES sub-study. European-Respiratory-Society (ERS) International Congress, Madrid, Spain, 28 September-2 October 2019. Sheffield, United Kingdom: European Respiratory Society. doi: 10.1183/13993003.congress-2019.OA5338

Azithromycin add-on therapy reduces airway inflammation and extracellular DNA: An AMAZES sub-study

2019

Conference Publication

Baseline predictors of being exacerbation-free during 2 years of benralizumab treatment

Upham, John W., Jackson, David J., Barker, Peter, Newbold, Paul and Cook, William (2019). Baseline predictors of being exacerbation-free during 2 years of benralizumab treatment. European-Respiratory-Society (ERS) International Congress, Madrid, Spain, 28 September - 2 October 2019. Sheffield, United Kingdom: European Respiratory Society. doi: 10.1183/13993003.congress-2019.OA5337

Baseline predictors of being exacerbation-free during 2 years of benralizumab treatment

2019

Journal Article

Influenza epidemiology in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2017: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN)

Cheng, Allen C., Holmes, Mark, Dwyer, Dominic E., Senanayake, Sanjaya, Cooley, Louise, Irving, Louis B., Simpson, Graham, Korman, Tony, Macartney, Kristine, Friedman, N Deborah, Wark, Peter, Howell, Anna, Blyth, Christopher C., Bowler, Simon, Upham, John, Waterer, Grant W., Kotsimbos, Tom and Kelly, Paul M. (2019). Influenza epidemiology in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2017: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN). Communicable Diseases Intelligence, 43. doi: 10.33321/cdi.2019.43.39

Influenza epidemiology in patients admitted to sentinel Australian hospitals in 2017: the Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN)

2019

Journal Article

Long-term azithromycin reduces Haemophilus influenzae and increases antibiotic resistance in severe asthma

Taylor, Steven L., Leong, Lex E. X., Mobegi, Fredrick M., Choo, Jocelyn M., Wesselingh, Steve, Yang, Ian A., Upham, John W., Reynolds, Paul N., Hodge, Sandra, James, Alan L., Jenkins, Christine, Peters, Matthew J., Baraket, Melissa, Marks, Guy B., Gibson, Peter G., Rogers, Geraint B. and Simpson, Jodie L. (2019). Long-term azithromycin reduces Haemophilus influenzae and increases antibiotic resistance in severe asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 200 (3), 309-317. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201809-1739OC

Long-term azithromycin reduces Haemophilus influenzae and increases antibiotic resistance in severe asthma

2019

Journal Article

Effects of interleukin‐6 receptor blockade on allergen‐induced airway responses in mild asthmatics

Revez, Joana A., Bain, Lisa M., Watson, Rick M., Towers, Michelle, Collins, Tina, Killian, Kieran J., O'Byrne, Paul M., Gauvreau, Gail M., Upham, John W. and Ferreira, Manuel A. R. (2019). Effects of interleukin‐6 receptor blockade on allergen‐induced airway responses in mild asthmatics. Clinical & Translational Immunology, 8 (6) e1044, e1044. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1044

Effects of interleukin‐6 receptor blockade on allergen‐induced airway responses in mild asthmatics

2019

Journal Article

HOspitalised Pneumonia Extended (HOPE) Study to reduce the long-term effects of childhood pneumonia: protocol for a multicentre, double-blind, parallel, superiority randomised controlled trial

Chang, Anne B., Fong, Siew Moy, Yeo, Tsin Wen, Ware, Robert S., McCallum, Gabrielle B., Nathan, Anna M., Ooi, Mong H., de Bruyne, Jessie, Byrnes, Catherine A., Lee, Bilawara, Nachiappan, Nachal, Saari, Noorazlina, Torzillo, Paul, Smith-Vaughan, Heidi, Morris, Peter S., Upham, John W. and Grimwood, Keith (2019). HOspitalised Pneumonia Extended (HOPE) Study to reduce the long-term effects of childhood pneumonia: protocol for a multicentre, double-blind, parallel, superiority randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 9 (4) e026411, e026411. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026411

HOspitalised Pneumonia Extended (HOPE) Study to reduce the long-term effects of childhood pneumonia: protocol for a multicentre, double-blind, parallel, superiority randomised controlled trial

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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