Our People

Distinguished Professor Ammit is a biomedical scientist with an international reputation for her research elucidating the mechanistic basis of inflammation in respiratory diseases.

Graduating with a PhD from University of Sydney in 1996, Alaina has received prestigious fellowships to support her postdoctoral career, including the Asthma Foundation Martin Hardie Research Fellowship and a NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship (conducted at the University of Pennsylvania). Appointed to a Faculty position at the University of Sydney in 2002, she was promoted to Professor in 2014 and Head of the Respiratory Research Theme.

In March 2016, she was recruited to the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research as the Director of the Woolcock Emphysema Centre, in collaboration with UTS where she has a continuing research-intensive role as Professor of Respiratory Pharmacology. Distinguished Professor Ammit has earned an international reputation for her research, demonstrated by > 115 publications with citations > 4,800, a h-index of 35, and a career total of > $10 million from a range of funding bodies (including NH&MRC, ARC and infrastructure and equipment grant funders) and has attracted ~ $3 million in philanthropic funding. Alaina has served as Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science at UTS since 2018 and was appointed Distinguished Professor in 2022.

She has demonstrated research leadership through international research contributions and high level engagement with the research community. Her current appointments include ARC Medical Research Advisory Group and NHMRC Grant Review Panel membership. In the past she has served on the ARC College of Experts (2014-2017) as Editorial Board Member of the journals Allergy, Scientific Reports and Respiratory Research; on NHMRC Grant Review Panels (including Chair of NHMRC ECF Training Fellowships 2012-2013), Associate Dean (Research) (2006-2010), and Executive Director and Honorary Secretary of the Australian Society for Medical Research (2005-2007). Alaina is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (2022).

View Alaina's academic profile