Congratulations to Dr Jennifer Perret on winning a 2020 Victoria Fellowship

Dr Jennifer Perret, an NHMRC Early Career Fellow from the Allergy and Lung Health Unit of the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, has been awarded a 2020 Victoria Fellowship.  Dr Perret is a medically-trained respiratory epidemiologist who completed her PhD in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health in 2015.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a non-reversible airway obstruction associated with shortness of breath, disability and premature death. It is the leading cause of preventable hospitalisation in Australia and is commonly diagnosed in older adults, in its advanced stages, when treatments are ineffective. Using machine learning technology and world-class cohort data, Dr Perret will lead the development of an innovative risk calculator for general practitioners to identify high risk candidates for non-invasive and inexpensive lung function testing to end COPD cases at an early stage.

This Victoria Fellowship awarded Dr Perret a travel grant of $18,000 to foster existing and establish new collaborations within the National Heart Lung Institute, Imperial College, London and bring back knowledge to Victoria to strengthen its position as a global centre for research.