Dr Daniel Laucirica
Acting Assistant Team Head, Phage Manufacturing Facility
daniel.laucirica@thekids.org.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-laucirica-884253166/Dr Daniel Laucirica is a translational researcher focused on developing bacteriophage therapies for drug-resistant infections. His work spans microbiology, virology, bioprocessing, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), and clinical translation, with the goal of delivering safe and effective therapies for patients with limited treatment options. In Western Australia, he led the phage screening workflows that supported the state's first clinical delivery of bacteriophage therapy at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in 2024. He works as part of the Phage WA Manufacturing Facility, a collaboration between Cell & Tissue Therapies WA and The Kids Research Institute Australia, where he contributes to building local capability in advanced phage therapeutics, reducing reliance on interstate manufacturing, and supporting future clinical trials and translational research.
Daniel completed his PhD investigating host-microbe interactions in the airways of children with cystic fibrosis (CF). His research demonstrated that specific bacterial species drive airway inflammation and lung damage. He has expanded this work to examine the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects of bacteriophage therapy for CF lung infections. His broader research portfolio includes studies of necrotising Streptococcus pyogenes infection, rotavirus host-glycan interactions, and rotavirus vaccine effectiveness in children. He published one of the first studies demonstrating that human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) reduce infectivity of human rotavirus, informing the development of HMO-supplemented infant formula. Through his research, Daniel advances the translation of innovative therapies from the laboratory to clinical practice.
Published research
Animal-free peptones support bacteriophage propagation for therapeutic use without altering bactericidal activity or genomic integrity
Bacteriophage (phage) propagation has traditionally relied on bacterial culture media containing animal-derived ingredients; however, safety concerns with animal-derived materials for production of phages for therapeutic use limit their acceptability. We compared animal-free and traditional media formulations, and evaluated effects on phage yield, bactericidal activity, and genomic characteristics, hypothesizing no significant differences would be observed.
Complete genome sequence of Burkholderia cenocepacia bacteriophage Karil-mokiny-1
Burkholderia cepacia complex causes life-threatening respiratory infections. Here, a bacteriophage with activity against B. cenocepacia was isolated from wastewater. It has a genome size of 70,144 bp and has the taxonomic classification Irusalimvirus. It has no genes associated with lysogeny, bacterial resistance, or virulence.
Phage therapy to treat cystic fibrosis Burkholderia cepacia complex lung infections: perspectives and challengesge
Burkholderia cepacia complex is a cause of serious lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis, exhibiting extremely high levels of antimicrobial resistance. These infections are difficult to treat and are associated with high morbidity and mortality.
Stability Considerations for Bacteriophages in Liquid Formulations Designed for Nebulization
Pulmonary bacterial infections present a significant health risk to those with chronic respiratory diseases including cystic fibrosis and chronic-obstructive pulmonary disease. With the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, novel therapeutics are desperately needed to combat the emergence of resistant superbugs.
Bacteriophage: A new therapeutic player to combat neutrophilic inflammation in chronic airway diseases
Persistent respiratory bacterial infections are a clinical burden in several chronic inflammatory airway diseases and are often associated with neutrophil infiltration into the lungs. Following recruitment, dysregulated neutrophil effector functions such as increased granule release and formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) result in damage to airway tissue, contributing to the progression of lung disease.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa modulates neutrophil granule exocytosis in an in vitro model of airway infection
A population of neutrophils recruited into cystic fibrosis (CF) airways is associated with proteolytic lung damage, exhibiting high expression of primary granule exocytosis marker CD63 and reduced phagocytic receptor CD16. Causative factors for this population are unknown, limiting intervention. Here we present a laboratory model to characterize responses of differentiated airway epithelium and neutrophils following respiratory infection.
Development and validation of a miniaturized bacteriophage host range screening assay against antibiotic resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Antimicrobial resistance is a current global health crisis, and the increasing emergence of multidrug resistant infections has led to the resurgent interest in bacteriophages as an alternative treatment.
Cystic fibrosis clinical isolates of aspergillus fumigatus induce similar muco-inflammatory responses in primary airway epithelial cells
Aspergillus is increasingly associated with lung inflammation and mucus plugging in early cystic fibrosis disease during which conidia burden is low and strains appear to be highly diverse. It is unknown whether clinical Aspergillus strains vary in their capacity to induce epithelial inflammation and mucus production.
Changes in airway inflammation with pseudomonas eradication in early cystic fibrosis
Neutrophil elastase is a significant risk factor for structural lung disease in cystic fibrosis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa airway infection is linked with neutrophilic inflammation and substantial respiratory morbidity. We aimed to evaluate how neutrophil elastase (NE) activity changes after P. aeruginosa eradication and influences early disease outcomes. We assessed participants in the AREST CF cohort between 2000 and 2018 who had P. aeruginosa cultured from their routine annual bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and who underwent eradication treatment and a post eradication BAL. Factors associated with persistent P. aeruginosa infection, persistent neutrophilic inflammation following eradication and worse structural lung disease one year post-eradication were evaluated.
Progress in Model Systems of Cystic Fibrosis Mucosal Inflammation to Understand Aberrant Neutrophil Activity
Here we examine the latest findings of neutrophils in pediatric CF lung disease and proposed mechanisms of their pathogenicity