Dr Erol Gaillard

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester

Scientific Background

Research Interests

Dr Gaillard is a Paediatric Respiratory and Asthma consultant and clinical service lead at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and an Associate Professor at the University of Leicester/UK. His research interests include investigating the impact of the indoor and outdoor airborne exposome on respiratory health, asthma diagnosis and implementation of strategies including technology to improve outcomes in paediatric asthma including severe asthma, asthma phenotyping and biomarker stratified treatment strategies and the role of mediators and mucins secreted by the airway epithelium during acute exacerbations in children with wheezing and asthma.

Scientific Inspiration

All those who get the job done on time in a friendly, supportive and collaborative way.

Research Groups

Dr Gaillard is the current chair of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) paediatric Asthma and Allergy Group and co-chair of a recently funded ERS Clinical Research Collaboration (EXPLAIN-IT) to study the role of the exposome on respiratory health. Dr Gaillard also leads a Wellcome Trust research grant on indoor air pollution.

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: Supportive, collaborative, outcome orientated.

Provision of Training

Training and support will be provided by myself and co-supervisors from the University of Leicester Department of Physics to get the student familiar with the technology used. We will also be available when the student needs help and there will be regular meetings to identify blockers to progress.

Progression Monitoring and Management

We, as your supervisory team will ensure that you can reach your full potential. We like to be kept up to date, and will expect to see evidence of method development/data generation results on a regular basis.

Communication

Your supervisory team including myself will be available most working days and I can be contacted on What's Up for a quick response. There is also an open door policy and unless I am in meetings the student can pop along to my office any time for a chat.

Meetings

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me at least once per month. These meetings will be a mixture of face-to-face and via video chat or telephone. I am usually contactable for an instant response on every working day.

Work Patterns

The timing of work in my lab is completely flexible, and (other than attending pre-arranged meetings) I expect students to manage their own time.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 1 week's notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5,000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Primary supervisor for:

Systems Biology of Airway Mucus Clearance: An Integrated Experimental and Computational Approach

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Systems Biology of Airway Mucus Clearance: An Integrated Experimental and Computational Approach

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Essam Abo-Serie, Dr Svetlana Aleksandrova

University of Registration: University of Leicester

BBSRC Research Themes:

Understanding the Rules of Life (Systems Biology)
Integrated Understanding of Health (Ageing)

Project Outline

Phlegm lines our airways, traps dust and germs and is essential to keep our lungs healthy. Coughing creates airflow that pushes phlegm out. However, phlegm is a complex gel-like fluid that naturally changes its physical properties as we age.

This project investigates the physics of how phlegm stretches, breaks apart, and moves through the airways, and how age-related changes influence how effectively it is cleared.

Aim: To create and test a computer simulation of phlegm clearance in healthy lungs, uncovering how age affects airway cleaning.

Objectives:

Test how phlegm stretches and tears when hit with bursts of air mimicking a cough.
Use this lab data to calibrate an advanced computer simulation technique called Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH).
Apply this simulation to airway models of different sizes to see how lung growth and phlegm changes interact.

Methodology: The team will combine laboratory tests with computer simulations:

Lab Testing: Synthetic phlegm matched to different life stages will be placed inside models of airways of varying sizes. Using high-speed cameras and laser sheets, researchers will record exactly how phlegm deforms, tears, and shifts under cough-like air pulses.
Computer Simulations: Traditional models often oversimplify phlegm as a plain, uniform liquid. In contrast, the SPH approach models its true sticky, stretchy nature alongside real air currents. Running these simulations across different age profiles will reveal how physical lung dimensions and phlegm consistency combine to alter clearance efficiency.

Impact: This study will provide a clear, physics-based explanation of a vital respiratory function. It will also deliver a validated simulation tool that researchers can use in the future to analyse other complex bodily fluids. The project is led by specialists in respiratory health, airway physiology, and biomedical engineering.