The Fellowship will run over five years to investigate persistent inflammation in the lungs of older people who survive pneumonia and will try to identify new treatments to lower the risk of death in this vulnerable group of patients.
Dr Sendama completed both his clinical and research training at Newcastle University, where he undertook a PhD part‑funded by the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). He later secured an NIHR Clinical Lectureship in Respiratory Medicine at Newcastle University, allowing him to continue his postdoctoral research alongside his clinical work in Newcastle.
His research focuses on the immune system, specifically, how it resets and resolves inflammation after infection. While younger people typically recover fully from pneumonia, the picture is very different for those over 65.
Older adults who experience pneumonia face a far more difficult recovery than younger patients. They are more likely to be readmitted to hospital, more likely to experience lasting health problems, and more likely to die within ten years of the illness than people of a similar age who did not contract pneumonia, highlighting the profound long‑term impact pneumonia can have later in life.
He believes this vulnerability stems from a failure of the immune system to properly reset after infection. In older people, inflammation may not resolve as it should, leaving the body in a prolonged state of immune dysfunction.
Wezi’s fellowship project aims to uncover why recovery breaks down in later life by identifying the biological causes of this impaired healing, discovering drugs that could potentially reverse the defect, and improving the function of the lung immune cells responsible for resolving inflammation after pneumonia.
Ultimately, the goal is to transform outcomes for older adults following pneumonia, one of the most common and serious infections affecting this age group.
Dr Sendama said: "I'm excited to be able to continue my research into the mechanisms of disordered inflammation in the lungs. This award will allow me to take the next step in my career, leading an ambitious research programme alongside my clinical work in respiratory medicine. I'm hopeful that the project will lead to a new treatment approach for older people recovering from pneumonia, allowing people to live healthy lives for longer."
Dr Sendama credits the NHRP Academy with playing a significant role in his development as a clinical academic. Throughout his Clinical Lectureship and during the fellowship application process, the Academy provided extensive mentoring and preparation. One of the most valuable elements, he says, was the organisation of mock interviews:
“The NHRP Academy were really great at getting more established researchers to look through my application and set up mock interviews that were even more robust than the real thing. I felt very well prepared when I went into the room.”
This support helped strengthen his application and build confidence ahead of the highly competitive selection process.
About NHRP Academy
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