#Red4Research 2026: A look at the Manchester Asthma and Allergy study

Posted: Friday Jun 19th 2026

Today (Friday 19 June 2026) marks #Red4Research 2026.

Every year, Red4Research brings together everyone participating in, supporting, and undertaking research. It is an opportunity to show appreciation for the phenomenal work and treatments, systems and techniques that have arisen due to health and social care research and innovation.

Manchester Asthma and Allergy study

The Manchester Asthma and Allergy study (MAAS) led by Professors Angela Simpson, Honorary Consultant Respiratory Physician, Wythenshawe Hospital and Clare Murray, Consultant in Respiratory Paediatrics Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, is investigating the natural history of asthma and allergies and evaluating interventions for asthma prevention to enable the development of more accurate diagnostic tools and targeted treatments.

The prospective study follows a cohort of individuals with similar characteristics over an extended time to observe the association between risk factors and the development of a pre-determined disease or outcome. MAAS has monitored its participants from before birth into adulthood, investigating how environmental, genetic and psycho-social influences can affect asthma and allergies.

Running for 30 years, the study is being delivered at Wythenshawe Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and is sponsored by The University of Manchester.

In 1996, MAAS began with the screening pregnant women in antenatal clinics of Wythenshawe and Stepping Hill Hospitals. Over 1,000 local families were recruited to the study, and the research team has been following the 1,184 babies born throughout 1996 and 1997 since. Throughout the years, the study participants and their parents have attended follow up clinical assessments at Wythenshawe Hospital at key stages of their development.

MAAS has published more than 100 papers from data collected in the study, furthering the scientific community’s knowledge of asthma and allergies.

For #Red4Research two members of the MAAS research team, Gina Kerry, Clinical Research Nurse Manager and Dr Lesley Lowe, Lead Clinical Physiologist, and participants Leoni Liebert, Joe Thomas and Gabriella Guy share what being part of the research means to them.