Nayia Petousi

My research interests are in integrative cardiorespiratory physiology, type-2 airways inflammation and airways diseases. The overarching aim of my work is to "Predict & Prevent" respiratory disease (airways diseases such asthma and COPD): bring disease detection upstream, predict who is at risk and intervene to prevent airway remodelling and progressive lung damage. I lead translational research on physiological phenotyping of airways diseases using novel non-invasive physiological techniques, such as Computed Cardiopulmonography (CCP), aiming to improve early disease detection, more accurately assess disease progression or treatment response and identify novel treatable traits for better targeting of treatments. CCP consists of a novel technology, the Molecular Flow Sensor (developed by Professor Peter Robbins' & Prof Grant Ritchie's groups in DPAG & Chemistry) that accurately measures respired gases with unprecedented precision, coupled with a new computational cardiopulmonary model. We are using CCP to quantify lung inhomogeneity (unevemness) to phenotype and endotype airways diseases in combination with other biomarkers of disease in blood, sputum, breath. We have shown that a novel measure of inhomogeneity (uneveness) in lung ventilation, termed sigma-CL, is very sensitive in picking up early changes in the small-airways of the lungs, where disease typically begins. Additionally, I am particularly interested in the role of type-2 inflammation as a driver of progressive respiratory morbidity, and whether early disease detection and intervention (with type-2 targeted therapies) can alter this trajectory.