Laura Dowling is a PhD candidate from the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy at the University of Newcastle and a member of the Nutrition and Immunometabolism theme of the Immune Health Research Program at the Hunter Medical Research Institute. Laura's thesis is investigating the effect of gut-derived microbial metabolites on inflammatory responses in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and seeks to establish novel diet-based therapeutics for the treatment of COPD. Laura is an Australian Graduate Women Barbara Hale Fellow.