Research Interests: Genetic and environmental origins of asthma and allergy.

John Henderson’s research interests are primarily centred on identification of early life factors associated with the development of asthma dn allergies in children. He works with the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALPSAC) cohort, where he has established a programme of respiratory follow up that includes lung function measurements, assessment pof allergies and longitudinal infromation on wheezing illnesses and asthma through childhood. Recent work has focused on identifying different phenotypes of asthma in early childhood and investigating differential genetic and environmental influences on their development. The ALSPAC cohort has also made substantial contibutions to international collaborations to conduct genomewide association studies (GWAS) of asthma and allergies; we are currently leading a GWAS of early childhood wheezing phenotypes in collaboration with the The EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortium.

John Henderson is a Reader in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine. His background is in clinical paediatrics and he has trained in paediatric respiratory medicine, neonatal medicine and paediatric intensive care. His early research career was based around physiology of the respiratory system in children and infants. For the past decade, his main research interests have been centred on the epidemiology of asthma and allergy in children, working with the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents & Children (ALSPAC). He also has a major clinical role in the assessment and treatment of children with neuromuscular diseases and has recently developed a research programme in the evaluation of respiratory muscle function in this group of young people.