Professor Ross Vlahos ha received the RMIT Vice Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award – a reflection of the high level of excellence achieved in research activity over the past five years.
Prof Vlahos is a Principal Research Fellow and Head of the Respiratory Research Group in the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences at RMIT University in Melbourne.
Through his research work, which is internationally competitive and ground-breaking, he has been able to identify: “novel disease mechanisms, paradigms and therapeutic targets for lung diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and respiratory infections”.
Prof Vlahos has authored 110 publications in leading international journals and has received up to $10.4 million in continuous funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australia funding since 2001.
He has served on numerous academic panels, international society committees, editorial boards and has presented at prestigious international conferences.
COPD is a major incurable global health burden and is currently the third highest cause of death in the world. It costs Australia over $8.8 billion a year.
As there are no effective treatments for COPD, Prof Vlahos’ work in developing therapeutic measures is vital in countering this disease.