Small Starter Grant Blog - Dr Lorenzo Petralia

Thanks to the support of the EPSRC BIOREME Small Starter Grant, I recently completed a series of research activities that helped me strengthen key collaborations and advance my interdisciplinary work at the intersection of laser spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and biophysical modelling for breath research and respiratory medicine.

After leaving the snowy Alps of Innsbruck behind, I began my journey at the Royal Society of Chemistry SDG Spectroscopy Conference at the University of Warwick, where I presented my research on integrating accurate time‑resolved exhaled breath measurements (either via spectroscopy or mass-spectrometry) with mechanistic pulmonary models. The meeting united leading optical‑spectroscopy specialists and offered a great opportunity to discuss emerging analytical tools with the potential to shape the future of breath‑analysis technologies.

While in Warwick, I took the opportunity to visit Prof. Declan Bates and Dr. Sina Saffaran, who develop state‑of‑the‑art cardiopulmonary platform to simulate digital twins. Discussing how these patient-specific simulation platforms can complement real‑time breath‑gas measurements was particularly inspiring.

I then travelled to the University of Oxford, where I spent a week with the Oxford Molecular Flow Sensor Group to finalise collaborative work with Prof Peter Robbins and Dr Haopeng Xu on modelling breath‑resolved spectroscopic profiles. Moreover, together with Prof. Grant Ritchie, Dr Graham Richmond, and Dr Nick Smith I explored opportunities for future joint projects in breath research, particularly in light of my recent work on nasal end‑tidal exhaled breath sampling, which is a preferable method for reducing confounding effects associated with the oral microbiome [ DOI 10.1088/1752-7163/adf505].

A highlight of the visit was the chance to work closely with Dr Minsuok Kim on applying his Full‑scale Airway Network (FAN) model. We explored new avenues for adapting the FAN model to localise inflammation within the airway tree and took the opportunity to sketch out several concepts for future collaborative studies and interdisciplinary grant applications in respiratory science, lung modelling, and breathomics.

Dr Lorenzo Petralia is a physicist who joined the Ritchie group, University of Oxford, to work on laser-based breath analysis devices for non-invasive medical diagnostics. He is keen to participate in the improvement of healthcare technology.

Lorenzo’s research trip was made possible through funding from BIOREME. We encourage all in respiratory research who are planning research visits or collaborative activity to explore the opportunities available through BIOREME and consider submitting an application. You can find relevant information here.