Journal Article
Complex breathlessness intervention in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (BREEZE-IPF): a feasibility, wait-list design randomised controlled trial
Crooks, M. G., Wright, C., Hart, S., Allgar, V., English, A., Swan, F., Dyson, J., Richardson, G., Twiddy, M., Cohen, J., Simpson, A., Huang, C., Sykes, D. L., & Johnson, M. (2025). Complex breathlessness intervention in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (BREEZE-IPF): a feasibility, wait-list design randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open Respiratory Research, 12(1), Article e002327. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2024-002327
Cough frequency has a high daily variation in patients with chronic cough
Morice, A., Alge, M., Kuett, L., Hart, S., Rigby, A., & Elkayam, D. (2025). Cough frequency has a high daily variation in patients with chronic cough. ERJ Open Research, 11(1), Article 00670-2024. https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00670-2024
Defining an ageing-related pathology, disease or syndrome: International Consensus Statement
Short, E., Zemel, M., Yu, E., Chung, T. Y., Yeo, L. L., Witkowski, J. M., Willis, R., Whitney, S. L., Weinberger, B., Weight, C., Webster, A., Watkins, A. J., Wakefield, R., Walker, J., Vyazovskiy, V., Vukanovic, V., Vinciguerra, M., Verschoor, C., Vernooij, M. W., Venkat, R., …Bhandari, S. (online). Defining an ageing-related pathology, disease or syndrome: International Consensus Statement. GeroScience, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-024-01315-9
Mirtazapine to alleviate severe breathlessness in patients with COPD or ILD: an international, multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 mixed-method trial (BETTER-B)
Higginson, I. J., Brown, S. T., Oluyase, A. O., May, P., Maddocks, M., Costantini, M., Bajwah, S., Normand, C., Bausewein, C., Simon, S. T., Ryan, K., Currow, D. C., Johnson, M., Hart, S. P., Mather, H., Krajnik, M., Tanzi, S., Ghirotto, L., Bolton, C., Janowiak, P., …Brown, J. M. (2024). Mirtazapine to alleviate severe breathlessness in patients with COPD or ILD: an international, multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 mixed-method trial (BETTER-B). Lancet, 12(10), 763-774. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600%2824%2900187-5
Research priorities for progressive pulmonary fibrosis in the UK
Fabbri, L., Russell, A. M., Chaudhuri, N., Adams, W., Cowan, K., Conway, J., Dickinson, W., Gibbons, M., Hart, S., Jones, S., Lynch-Wilson, J., McMillan, T., Milward, S., Ward, M., Wright, L. E., & Jenkins, G. (2024). Research priorities for progressive pulmonary fibrosis in the UK. BMJ Open Respiratory Research, 11(1), Article e002368. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2024-002368
Research interests
I work on rare lung diseases, defined as affecting fewer than 1 in 2,000 people. My group's research focus is on pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis. Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a progressive, incurable scarring disease of the lungs with a worse prognosis than most cancers. Sarcoidosis is a multi-organ inflammatory disease that can cause considerable loss of quality of life and economic hardship. For both conditions, current treatments are inadequate.
My group's research aims to ultimately improve outcomes for patients through:
- Translational science (using patient samples) to understand the biological processes that drive pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis.
- Multinational collaborative research to determine genetic risks factors and hence understand the cells and molecules that drive pulmonary fibrosis.
- Principal investigator for clinical trials of novel and repurposed treatments, both investigator-initiated clinical research and commercial trials, with the expert team in the respiratory clinical trials unit at Castle Hill hospital.
- Co-investigator on clinical research to improve patients’ symptoms and quality of life, focussing on breathlessness and cough, such as our award-winning collaboration between respiratory medicine and Wolfson palliative care at HYMS.
Lead investigator
Project
Funder
Grant
Started
Status
Project
Study to Evaluate Axatilimab in Participants With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
Funder
Syndax Pharmaceuticals
Grant
£16,954.00
Started
1 February 2024
Status
Ongoing
Project
A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate theEfficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of BMS-986278 in Participants with Idiopathic Pulmonary fibrosis
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£85,668.00
Started
1 November 2023
Status
Ongoing
Project
ALOFT-PPF
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£82,702.00
Started
1 June 2024
Status
Ongoing
Project
BEACON-IPF
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£13,541.00
Started
1 June 2024
Status
Ongoing
Project
BI1819479 IN IPF / 1462-0004
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£8,059.00
Started
1 August 2024
Status
Ongoing
Project
1490-0004 - IPF Cohort
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£7,707.00
Started
1 August 2024
Status
Ongoing
Project
A single arm, open-label exploratory clinical trial of azithromycin in pulmonary sarcoidosis
Funder
SarcoidosisUK
Grant
£59,992.00
Started
1 March 2019
Status
Complete
Project
Development and application of a multi-scale computational model of sarcoidosis to predict therapeutic approaches for non-self-resolving disease
Funder
Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research
Grant
£117,415.00
Started
30 June 2017
Status
Complete
Project
Sir Jules Thorn PhD Scholarship Programme 2016
Funder
Jules Thorn Charity
Grant
£83,999.00
Started
1 September 2016
Status
Complete
Project
Characterisation of monocyte CD200R in pulmonary sarcoidosis
Funder
BLF British Lung Foundation
Grant
£116,317.00
Started
1 March 2016
Status
Complete
Project
ISABELA1: A Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebocontrolled multicenter study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of two doses of GLPG1690 in addition to local standard of care for minimum 52 weeks in subjects with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£38,885.00
Started
1 August 2019
Status
Complete
Project
SCENIC: Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Ranging, Efficacy and Safety Study with Inhaled RVT-1601 for the Treatment of Persistent Cough in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£17,918.00
Started
1 May 2019
Status
Complete
Project
ATLAS: A Randomized Open-Label, Phase 1b Study of the Safety of Pirfenidone Solution for Inhalation (AP01) in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£5,937.00
Started
1 June 2019
Status
Complete
Project
TR12: A Phase 2, Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Two-Treatment, Two-Period Crossover Efficacy and Safety Study in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis with Nalbuphine ER Tablets for the Treatment of Cough
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£20,357.00
Started
1 October 2019
Status
Complete
Project
An exploratory sub-study to protocol GLPG1690-CL-303 to assess lung function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, using hyperpolarized xenon magnetic resonance imaging
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£3,228.00
Started
1 November 2019
Status
Complete
Project
COASPIRE: A randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled study of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA-FFA) gastro-resistant capsules to treat hospitalised subjects with confirmed SARS-CoV-2
Funder
SLA Pharma (UK) Ltd
Grant
£2,489.00
Started
1 November 2021
Status
Complete
Project
A cell model for discovering biomarkers and druggable targets for pulmonary fibrosis
Funder
BLF British Lung Foundation
Grant
£79,958.00
Started
1 May 2023
Status
Complete
Project
A multi-centre, real-world exploratory cohort study to evaluate cough frequency, severity, and impact on quality of life in patients with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis interstitial lung disease.
Funder
Boehringer Ingelheim Limited
Grant
£2,044.00
Started
1 December 2022
Status
Complete
Co-investigator
Project
Funder
Grant
Started
Status
Project
BREEZE 2: A randomised controlled trial of a complex intervention to manage breathlessness in pulmonary fibrosis
Funder
NIHR National Institute for Health Research
Grant
£397,551.00
Started
1 April 2024
Status
Ongoing
Project
BREATHE: Breathlessness RElief AT HomE
Funder
NIHR National Institute for Health Research
Grant
£232,098.00
Started
1 April 2019
Status
Complete
Project
MABEL: A Parallel Group, Double-blind, Randomised Placebo-controlled Trial Comparing The Efficacy And Cost effectiveness
Funder
NIHR National Institute for Health Research
Grant
£731,726.00
Started
1 March 2019
Status
Complete
Project
Development and publication of the booklet for the pulmonary fibrosis (disease with a degree of similarity to coronavirus disease).
Funder
Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust
Grant
£322.00
Started
1 November 2020
Status
Complete
Project
Updating (Reviewing and Printing) the Patient's Guide to Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Funder
Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust
Grant
£401.00
Started
1 November 2022
Status
Complete
Project
Study of the lung endothelium in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Funder
University of Hull
Grant
£35,465.00
Started
1 September 2020
Status
Complete
Project
HEIF: Simplifying patient information for clinical trials
Funder
University of Hull
Grant
£22,200.00
Started
1 August 2023
Status
Complete
Project
Fully humanised model of ageing endothelium to study ageing-associated lung diseases:
Funder
Animal Free Research UK
Grant
£24,606.00
Started
1 April 2024
Status
Complete
Project
BETTER-B: BETter TreatmEnts for Refractory Breathlessness
Funder
EC European Commission
Grant
£56,859.00
Started
1 January 2019
Status
Complete