Dr Joshua Jacob

Respiratory Allergy Stream PhD Scholar

• PhD Candidate, Western Sydney University​
• Project: Patient perspectives in allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and allergen immunotherapy
• Primary Supervisor: Professor Connie Katelaris, Respiratory Allergy Stream Advisory Group member
• Immunology Advanced Trainee, Campbelltown Hospital
• Clinical Lecturer, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney

Why is this research important to you personally, and those impacted by respiratory allergies?

As a clinician who treats allergy and a patient that suffers from allergy, I have spent years observing challenges in managing atopic diseases. Causative mechanisms remain elusive, management is largely symptomatic, effective prevention and curative treatments are yet to be accomplished. Aeroallergen immunotherapy is disease modifying, but it is hamstrung by heterogeneity in products, suboptimal adherence and significant financial impost to the patient.

A remarkable blind-spot in aeroallergen immunotherapy literature is representation of the patient’s perspective. How much do patients understand their treatment? How do they feel about it? What aspects do they think need further improvement? Would subsidising treatment be likely to improve outcomes? How cost-effective could public spending be here? These are some of the important questions which I plan to answer with my research.

What inspired you to pursue a career in allergy research?  

Allergy prevalence is growing in Australia, and with it the morbidity associated with atopic disease. Every clinic session my patients ask questions to which I can only respond: “We are yet to figure that part out, but we are working on it”. I am eager to contribute to our collective understanding of atopic diseases during my research career. I hope to address some important gaps in the literature, leaving less patients with unanswered questions.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter: @joshgjacob

RECENT PUBLICATIONS:

Oral food challenge outcomes in children and adolescents in a tertiary centre: A 5-year experience. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. Apr 2023

Common variable immunodeficiency in association with autoimmune encephalitis, collagenous gastritis, and colitis. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Jul 2021

Acute dystonic reaction mimicking angioedema secondary to metoclopramide ingestion. Emergency Medicine Australasia, Apr 2021