Characterization and comparison of healthy and asthmatic cohort participants before and after deliberate rhinovirus infection


  • Research questions/goals:The aim of this study is to use longitudinal respiratory, inflammatory, and immunological biomarker data in order to characterize and compare healthy and asthmatic cohort participants before and after a deliberate infection with a rhinovirus. In this project the participant recruitment and data collection was carried out at the Academic Medical Centre at University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Longitudinal data of lung function, exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), inflammatory and immunological biomarkers in nasal lavage, and many other parameters were collected during two months prior to deliberate rhinovirus infection and during the first month after the viral challenge.
  • Current main results and/or publications: We have found evidence for a loss of adaptive capacity in asthmatics. Learn more in our recently published paper Loss of adaptive capacity in asthmatics revealed by biomarker fluctuation dynamics upon experimental rhinovirus challenge.
  • Funding: This project is being funded by an ERS-RESPIRE2 – Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship awarded to Dr. Anirban Sinha by the European Respiratory Society and the European Commission, and by a research grant from the Swiss Lung Association (Lungenliga).
  • Collaborators: Dr. Anirban Sinha, Prof. Dr. Peter Sterk, and Prof. Dr. Rene Lutter of the Academic Medical Centre at University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, who initiated this exciting and pioneering project.