Professor Murphy said Port Waratah played an integral role in ensuring that she remained in Newcastle after completing her PhD in 2004.

“My first post-doctoral fellowship was supported by a generous $300,000 donation from Port Waratah to HMRI for research into asthma during pregnancy,” she said.

“I’ve been in Newcastle ever since and my research team is now a group of 14, with four early and mid-career researchers, six PhD students and four support staff."

“The initial $300K in support from Port Waratah has grown to more than $13 million in funding for this research,” said Prof. Murphy.

Trudie Larnach, Manager Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, said it was a real “where are they now” story and a very proud and inspiring moment to hear Vanessa talk of her career and how it all started with a Port Waratah community partnership 21 years ago.

“We love to hear the positive impacts our Community Investment and Partnerships Programme support is making to help the people in our community and region. In this case, HMRI and Professor Murphy have achieved significant benefits for our community driving world-leading research into asthma and pregnancy health. This research is having lifesaving and lifechanging outcomes for Mums and Bubs,” said Mrs Larnach.

“It shows that from early beginnings with funding, large scale developments and improvements are possible, and that Newcastle really can hold its own on the world stage to make a tangible difference.”

Professor Murphy’s Team’s work has found that:

• Asthma is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes including being born too small, or too soon, or having to go to the neonatal intensive care unit after birth.
• Asthma attacks occur frequently in pregnancy and increase the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes. Key risk factors for having an asthma attack in pregnancy include obesity, smoking, depression and anxiety.
• Targeting asthma treatment to lung inflammation, rather than symptoms, improves the mother’s asthma in pregnancy and reduces the chance that the baby will develop asthma by pre-school age.

The team was also responsible for developing a world-first online resource for health professionals and families, the Asthma in Pregnancy Toolkit. You can check it out here: www.asthmapregnancytoolkit.org.au

Vanessa’s team is currently looking for participants for a study about how “treatable traits” that occur outside the lungs (such as rhinitis, reflux, nausea, diet and physical activity) can affect asthma during pregnancy. Interested women can contact the team by phone/text to 0438 211 806 or find out more at www.asthmapregnancytoolkit.org.au/participate-in-asthma-research.

Professor Vanessa Murphy from the University of Newcastle is a research scientist investigating the characteristics, mechanisms and consequences of asthma exacerbations during pregnancy and their health impact on both the mother and baby.

She is Deputy Chair of the Hunter Medical Research Institute’s Asthma and Breathing Research Program and an MRFF Investigator Grant research fellow.

Professor Murphy is an investigator with the Centre of Excellence in Treatable Traits and led the development of the world-first online resource for both health professionals and families, the Asthma in Pregnancy Toolkit, which was launched in 2022.