George Clinical is widening its clinical trials focus to include respiratory diseases, such as asthma and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), in recognition of its major contribution towards ill health and disability across the world.

Professor Christine Jenkins has been appointed Professorial Fellow and Head of Respiratory Trials at George Clinical. This role will complement her current role as Head of the Airways Group with the Woolcock Institute and her clinical work at Concord Hospital.  Christine’s area of research interest is the clinical management of airways disease.

Over the last decade, Christine has made an invaluable contribution to improving clinical guidelines in asthma and COPD. Her current research examines interventions in older people with asthma and COPD, focusing on patient education, pulmonary rehabilitation, persistently symptomatic asthma, and patient centred outcomes. She teaches and supervises graduate and post graduate students, and has supervised seven PhD students. She has a particular interest in the design and conduct of clinical trials in respiratory disease, working extensively with the pharmaceutical industry on the development of new therapies.

Christine also contributes strongly to promoting asthma and COPD awareness and understanding in the community and has been an active contributor to clinical guidelines in airways disease. Her contribution was acknowledged by the award of Member in the Order of Australia in 2003 for recognition of service to respiratory medicine as a physician, administrator and educator, especially in the field of asthma education. Christine has also written two books on asthma, one for medical students and one for patients, their families and carers.

With this appointment, George Clinical is taking an important step towards developing an international respiratory trials capacity, acknowledging the predicted global burden of respiratory disease and its impact on quality of life, productivity and mortality in the next 10 – 20 years and beyond.