Distinguished Professor Alaina Ammit is Professor of Respiratory Pharmacology in the School of Life Sciences and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science at UTS. These positions are held collaboratively with the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research where Alaina is Research Leader.

Distinguished Professor Ammit has an international reputation for her research elucidating the mechanistic basis of inflammation in chronic respiratory diseases. Graduating with BAppSc (Biomedical Science) from UTS (then NSWIT) in 1984, Alaina went onto complete both her MSc (1990) and PhD (1996) studies through the University of Sydney. She received prestigious fellowships to support her postdoctoral studies, including an NH&MRC CJ Martin Fellowship. Returning from her postdoctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania, she was appointed Lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney in 2002 and on the strength and success of her research and teaching, was appointed Associate Dean (Research) 2006-2010, promoted to Professor in 2014 and Head of the Respiratory Research Theme (2013-2016). She was recruited to UTS in 2016 in a collaborative research position in the School of Life Sciences and was the inaugural director of the Woolcock Emphysema Centre (2016 -2022) and Chair of the Research Committee and Executive Committee Member at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research (2024 - 2026). Alaina has served as Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science at UTS since 2018 and appointed Distinguished Professor in 2022 and was seconded to serve as interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) (July-Dec 2025).

Awards, Fellowships and Distinctions:

2023     Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW (FRSN)

2022     Distinguished Professor, UTS

2022     Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)

2013      Senior Medical Scientist Award, Lung Institute of Western Australia

2011       Thompson Fellowship, University of Sydney

2006     Young Tall Poppy Award, Australian Institute of Policy and Science

2005      Senior Medical Scientist Award, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute

2004      Scientific Visits to North America, Australian Academy of Science

2001       Johnson & Johnson Research Postdoctoral Research Award, Australian Society of Medical Research (ASMR)

1998       CJ Martin Fellowship, NHMRC

1996        Martin Hardie Research Fellowship, Asthma Foundation of NSW

1990        Australian Postgraduate Award, ARC                                                                             

1989        Young Investigator's Award, Royal North Shore Hospital