Respiratory & Sleep Physician (FRACP) | JCU Senior Lecturer | Clinical Educator & Mentor | Researcher in Respiratory Medicine | Advocate for Clinical Governance & Multidisciplinary Care

Dr Pranav Kumar

MBBS (Hons), DTCD, DNB, FRACP, FCCP

Building clinically embedded respiratory research in regional Queensland

 Dr Pranav Kumar has been nominated for the 2026 Mater People Awards – Research Excellence Award, recognising his sustained leadership in clinically meaningful respiratory research, clinical trials, original peer-reviewed scholarship, research translation and medical education, with a particular commitment to strengthening research opportunities for patients and clinicians in Mackay and regional Queensland.

The defining feature of Dr Kumar’s contribution is that he has not simply participated in research; he has consistently been a principal clinical and academic driver of his scholarly work. His research originates from real problems encountered in frontline respiratory practice. He identifies clinically important questions, develops them into research and scholarly publications, leads and coordinates collaborations, interprets findings and translates the resulting knowledge back into clinical care and education.

Importantly, this body of work has been developed alongside substantial frontline specialist responsibilities in regional Queensland. It demonstrates that research excellence is not defined by geography and that regional healthcare services can not only implement evidence generated elsewhere, but actively contribute to generating the evidence that shapes future care.

Dr Kumar has demonstrated his capability in complex prospective clinical research through his role as Principal Investigator in the SNDX-6352-0506 interstitial lung disease clinical trial.

This role involved the responsibilities inherent in regulated clinical research, including participant assessment, protocol implementation, patient-safety oversight, multidisciplinary collaboration and engagement with research governance and sponsor processes.

This work has particular significance in a regional setting. Patients outside metropolitan centres can have fewer opportunities to participate in clinical trials because of geographical distance and limited research infrastructure. Conducting sophisticated respiratory research regionally helps reduce this disparity and brings research opportunities closer to the patients who may ultimately benefit from advances in treatment.

Dr Kumar’s clinical research portfolio continues through his involvement in the BRIDGE study – Bronchiectasis Research Involving Databases, Genomics and Endotyping to match the right treatment to the right patient.

In 2026, Mater Private Hospital Mackay received authorisation as a participating BRIDGE site, connecting Mackay with a broader collaborative respiratory research network.

BRIDGE represents an important precision-medicine approach to bronchiectasis, integrating clinical information with databases, genomics and endotyping to better understand disease heterogeneity and ultimately support more individualised treatment.

Establishing participation in this research at Mater Private Hospital Mackay creates opportunities for regional patients to contribute to contemporary bronchiectasis research and helps ensure that regional populations are represented in the evidence base.

Dr Kumar’s contribution extends well beyond participation in clinical trials. A defining feature of his academic work has been his leadership and principal authorship of clinically relevant respiratory scholarship.

A strong example is his original research:

“Emergency Department Management of Asthma Patients in a Regional Hospital: A Cohort Study,”published in the Journal of Respiration in September 2025.

Dr Kumar was the first and corresponding author of this study, conducted at Mackay Base Hospital in collaboration with James Cook University.

The study evaluated real-world management of patients presenting to a regional emergency department with asthma. It exemplifies Dr Kumar’s approach to research: identify an important problem encountered in everyday clinical practice, systematically evaluate current management, identify opportunities for improvement and disseminate the findings through peer-reviewed publication.

The study demonstrates not only scholarly productivity but also research leadership—taking a clinically relevant regional question through investigation, collaboration, analysis and peer-reviewed publication.

Dr Kumar’s research has demonstrated measurable reach beyond his immediate clinical environment.

He was an author of the 2024 peer-reviewed study:

“Overuse of Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography and Low Utilization of Clinical Prediction Rules in Suspected Pulmonary Embolism Patients at a Regional Australian Hospital.”

This research examined an important patient-safety and health-services issue: the utilisation of CT pulmonary angiography and evidence-based clinical prediction rules in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism.

As of 22 July 2026, the publication had achieved 3,278 article views, 6 Web of Science citations, 7 Scopus citations and 8 Crossref citations. Its Crossref citation count exceeded the reported median of five citations for papers published within the same journal issue.

These objective measures demonstrate that research generated from regional Australian clinical practice can achieve significant reach and contribute to the wider scientific literature.

Sustained and broad scholarly contribution

These original studies form part of a broader and growing portfolio of respiratory scholarship.

Dr Kumar’s ResearchGate profile currently records 82 research items, 25 citations, an h-index of 3 and a Research Interest Score of 48.5, providing further evidence of sustained academic activity, dissemination and engagement with his work.

His academic interests span interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, pulmonary hypertension, asthma, COPD, pulmonary vascular disease, complex respiratory infections, autoimmune-associated lung disease, cystic and rare lung diseases, and treatment-related pulmonary toxicity.

His scholarly work has included clinically focused contributions addressing pulmonary arterial hypertension, complex and unusual respiratory infections including cavitary pneumonia caused by Bordetella bronchiseptica, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis, autoimmune-associated interstitial lung disease and other diagnostically challenging respiratory presentations.

His academic work in interstitial lung disease has encompassed fibrotic and autoimmune-associated disease, including clinically unusual presentations such as anti-PL-12 antisynthetase syndrome with Ro52 positivity and an NSIP-pattern interstitial lung disease.

Across this work, the recurring theme is translation: recognising an important clinical observation, formulating the academic question, bringing together appropriate collaborators and converting frontline clinical experience into scholarly output that can benefit clinicians and patients beyond the original encounter.

Dr Kumar’s research is fundamentally patient-centred and translational.

His work addresses practical questions arising from clinical medicine: Are patients with acute asthma receiving appropriate evidence-based treatment? Are diagnostic investigations for pulmonary embolism being used appropriately? How can treatment for bronchiectasis become more individualised? How can regional patients gain access to contemporary clinical trials? What can an unusual respiratory presentation teach clinicians caring for similar patients elsewhere?

This approach creates a continuous cycle:

Patient care → clinical question → research → publication → education → improved patient care.

This model is particularly valuable in regional medicine. It allows regional clinical services to move beyond being consumers of research and become active generators and contributors to the evidence base.

Dr Kumar’s academic contribution also extends beyond conducting and publishing his own research.

In 2026, he was invited by the International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, published by Dove Medical Press/Taylor & Francis Group, to review many manuscripts, based on his recognised expertise and contribution to the field.

Peer review is an important component of academic medicine. It requires critical appraisal of research methodology, interpretation, clinical relevance and scientific quality and contributes directly to maintaining the integrity of the published evidence base.

Being invited to evaluate the work of other researchers provides additional external recognition of Dr Kumar’s expertise and demonstrates that his contribution extends across the research ecosystem—from generating evidence himself to helping safeguard the quality of evidence generated by others.

Dr Kumar’s broader contribution to respiratory medicine has also received international professional recognition.

CHEST confirmed in June 2026 that he remains a Fellow in good standing. The FCCP distinction recognises professional achievement, leadership and contributions to chest medicine, encompassing excellence in clinical practice, teaching, research, publications and professional contribution.

This recognition complements his research leadership, publication record and peer-review activity and reflects a sustained commitment to advancing respiratory medicine.

Research and education are closely interconnected in Dr Kumar’s work.

As a Senior Lecturer at James Cook University, he contributes to undergraduate medical education, clinical supervision, mentoring and assessment.

He actively incorporates contemporary evidence, research findings and lessons arising from complex respiratory cases into medical education. Students and junior clinicians therefore learn not only established clinical knowledge but also how clinical questions become research questions, how evidence should be critically appraised and how research ultimately changes clinical practice.

This gives his research an important multiplier effect. Its impact extends beyond individual publications or study participants into the education of future doctors, many of whom will subsequently practise in regional and rural communities.

Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Dr Kumar’s contribution is what these achievements collectively represent within a regional healthcare environment.

Through SNDX-6352-0506, he has demonstrated Principal Investigator capability in complex interstitial lung disease clinical research.

Through BRIDGE, he is helping connect Mater Private Hospital Mackay and regional patients with contemporary bronchiectasis and precision-medicine research.

Through the regional asthma cohort study, he has demonstrated first and corresponding authorship and leadership of investigator-led original research.

Through the pulmonary embolism/CTPA study, he has contributed to health-services research with demonstrable readership and citation impact.

Through his broader respiratory scholarship, he has consistently transformed important clinical observations into academic output.

Through international peer review, he contributes to maintaining the quality and integrity of respiratory research.

Through his FCCP , his broader contribution to chest medicine has received international professional acknowledgement.

And through James Cook University, he translates evidence and research into education and future workforce development.

Collectively, these activities represent much more than a list of publications or research projects. They demonstrate the development of a clinically embedded, collaborative and sustainable culture of respiratory research in regional Queensland.

Dr Kumar exemplifies the clinician-researcher whose research begins with the patient and ultimately returns to the patient.

He has consistently been a driver of his scholarly work—identifying clinically important questions, developing research projects, leading authorship, building multidisciplinary collaborations, undertaking clinical trials, disseminating findings through peer-reviewed publication, critically reviewing the research of others and translating evidence into clinical care and education.

His contribution encompasses Principal Investigator leadership in the SNDX interstitial lung disease clinical trial; involvement in bringing the BRIDGE bronchiectasis study to Mater Private Hospital Mackay; sustained leadership and principal authorship of respiratory scholarship; first and corresponding authorship of original regional asthma research; measurable scholarly impact from regional pulmonary embolism/CTPA research; a growing academic portfolio; international peer-review activity; professional recognition through FCCP; multidisciplinary collaboration; and translation of research into medical education through James Cook University. He has more than 80 publications.

What makes this contribution particularly significant is that it has been achieved alongside substantial frontline specialist responsibilities in regional Queensland.

Dr Kumar’s work demonstrates that research excellence is not defined by geography. Regional patients should have opportunities to participate in contemporary research. Regional clinicians should be empowered to generate meaningful evidence. Regional healthcare services should contribute to the national and international medical literature. Most importantly, the knowledge generated through research should return to the patients and communities from which those questions arose.

Through the integration of clinical care, research leadership, clinical trials, original research, publication, peer review and education, Dr Kumar is helping strengthen sustainable respiratory research capability in regional Queensland while keeping the ultimate purpose of research firmly focused on improving patient care.

For his sustained leadership in clinically meaningful respiratory research, expansion of research opportunities for regional patients, leadership and principal authorship of scholarly work, measurable research impact, contribution to international peer review, and translation of evidence into clinical practice and education,

His contribution demonstrates what research excellence should achieve: identifying important clinical questions, generating meaningful evidence, sharing knowledge, developing future clinicians and ultimately improving care for patients and communities.

My list of publications :     2026

1. Progressive Constitutional Symptoms and Pleural Effusion Revealing Disseminated Tuberculosis Mimicking Malignancy
2. Severe Aortic Root Dilatation with Moderate-to-Severe Aortic Regurgitation in the Setting of Severe Pectus Excavatum: A Case Report
3. Hypereosinophilic Syndrome — needs bibliographic verification
4. Nontuber — do not enter under this title; needs identification of the actual publication
5. Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis — likely duplicate/older material; verify
6. VGCC Antibody-Associated Autoimmune Cerebellitis — appears to be an uploaded manuscript rather than confirmed publication
7. Zoster Sine Herpete Spectrum: VZV Meningitis Without Rash or Meningeal Signs in an Immunocompetent Adult – A Diagnostic Challenge
8. Lenalidomide and Bortezomib-Induced Interstitial Lung Disease in a Patient with Multiple Myeloma: A Case Report
9. Typhus Group Rickettsiosis Presenting as a Prolonged Febrile Illness with Multisystem Involvement Mimicking Hemophagocytic Syndrome in an Elderly Male
10. ICF Syndrome — needs verification/likely duplicate
11. Rheumatoid Arthritis–Associated Pleural Effusion in an Elderly Female With Multimorbidity: A Case Report and Diagnostic Challenge — Respirology Case Reports
12. Therapeutic Limitations of Nintedanib in Connective Tissue Disease-Related Interstitial Lung Disease with Severe Oesophageal Dysmotility: A Case Report
13. Necrotizing and Cavitary Pneumonia due to Bordetella bronchiseptica Transmission from a Cat: A Case Report — International Journal of Case Reports and Images
14. Pul hypertension — uploaded/incomplete record; needs proper title
15. Combined Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema (CPFE) Syndrome: A Case Report and Practical Approach
16. Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis Receiving Methotrexate and Adalimumab: A Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenge
17. Melioidosis Presenting as Bacteraemic Pneumonia Following a Mechanical Fall in an Elderly Patient with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Case Report
18. Malignant Ascites Mimicking Meigs and Pseudo-Meigs Syndromes: A Case of Cytology-Proven Metastatic Adenocarcinoma with Peritoneal Carcinomatosis
19. Right Middle Lobe Syndrome
20. Severe Hypomagnesaemia with Refractory Hypokalaemia, Bradyarrhythmia, and Normal Anion Gap Metabolic Acidosis: A Case of Suspected Proximal Renal Tubular Dysfunction
21. Occult Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Disease Revealing Anti-PL-12 Antisynthetase Syndrome in a Patient with Autoimmune Overlap
22. Birt-Hogg-Dubé Syndrome Presenting with a New Pleural-Based Pulmonary Nodule in a Patient with Progressive Cystic Lung Disease and Emphysema: A Case Report. 

2025

23. A Case of Bird Fancier’s Lung Disease Secondary to Long-term Bird Exposure
24. A Case of Sporadic Pulmonary Lymphangioleiomyomatosis in a Woman of Reproductive Age Exacerbated by Pregnancy
25. Left Lower-lobe Lung Abscess in a 25-year-old Man with Myotonic Dystrophy
26. Pulmonary Sweet’s Syndrome Presenting as Organising Pneumonia with Cytopenias: A Rare Manifestation of a Neutrophilic Dermatosis
27. Emergency Department Management of Asthma Patients in a Regional Hospital: A Cohort Study — Journal of Respiration
28. Dasatinib-Induced Transient Ischaemic Attack and Bilateral Pleural Effusions in a Patient with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia: A Case Report
29. An Atypical Mass-Like Presentation of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis: Diagnostic Challenges and Review of Differential Diagnoses
30. Smoking-Related Interstitial Lung Disease with Nonspecific Interstitial Pneumonia Pattern: A Case Report
31. Pulmonary Presentation of Microscopic Polyangiitis Mimicking Pneumonia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
32. Surgical Plication for Diaphragmatic Eventration in a 73-Year-Old Male with Significant Symptomatic and Pulmonary Function Improvement
33. Neurofibromatosis-Associated Diffuse Lung Disease: A Case Report and Literature Review
34. Pulmonary Pulse Granuloma Mimicking Malignancy: A Rare Case Presentation
35. Incidentally Detected Diffuse Cystic Lung Disease: A Possible Case of Lymphangioleiomyomatosis in a 60-Year-Old Female
36. Immunotherapy-Induced Adrenal Insufficiency
37. Mycoplasma-Induced Rash and Mucositis in a 21-Year-Old Female
38. Mast Cell Activation Syndrome: Diagnostic Challenges in Multisystem Involvement
39. The Rare Case of ICF Syndrome Presenting in Adulthood with Successful Pregnancy Outcome
40. Lenalidomide and Bortezomib-Induced Interstitial Lung Disease in a Patient with Multiple Myeloma — appears again in RG
41. Atypical Legionella longbeachae Pneumonia Presenting With the “Bow Sign” and Multisystem Abnormalities in an Older Truck Driver
42. Chronic Respiratory Tract Infection by Escherichia coli Causing Cavitating Lung Lesions. 

2024

43. Recurrent Pneumothoraxes in a Patient with Pulmonary Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis: A Case Report
44. A Rare Cause of Recurrent Haemoptysis in an Adult Woman: A Case Report
45. Overuse of Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography and Low Utilization of Clinical Prediction Rules in Suspected Pulmonary Embolism Patients at a Regional Australian Hospital — Healthcare
46. CTPA Poster Aug 2023 v2 — poster; should not be classified as a journal article
47. A Case of Durvalumab-Induced Pneumonitis
48. Idiopathic Pulmonary Hemosiderosis in a 25-Year-Old Female: A Case Report. 

2023

49. A Unique Case of Indolent Microscopic Polyangiitis in an Elderly Gentleman: A Case Report and Brief Review — Archive of Clinical Cases
50. Too Little, Too Late: A Case of a Swift Fatal Culmination of Amiodarone-Induced Pulmonary Toxicity in an Adult Male — International Medical Case Reports Journal. 

2021

51. Pneumomediastinum: A Severe Complication of Dermatomyositis — International Journal of Case Reports and Images
52. Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA)
53. Novel Biologics for Severe Asthma — poster. 

2020

54. Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis – A Rare Occurrence
55. A Case of Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis with Positive Atypical-ANCA
56. IgG4 Related Disease Presenting with Refractory Cough: A Case Report
57. SARS-CoV-2 upload — needs verification rather than entering as a publication.

There are multiple ResearchGate uploads around these publications that appear to be duplicates and should not become additional GECO journal publications. 

2019

58. Actinomycosis or Malignancy: A Diagnostic Dilemma — International Journal of Case Reports and Images
59. Nitrofurantoin Toxicity — needs formal bibliographic verification
60. CPFE Syndrome: A Case Report — International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Invention
61. Case Report: Catamenial Pneumothorax — International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Invention
62. Hypereosinophilic Syndrome — ResearchGate identifies this as a preprint, so I would not classify it as a peer-reviewed journal article without finding the subsequent publication. 

2018

63. A Case Report – A Subcutaneous Sarcoidosis Mimicking Tumour — Journal of Lung, Pulmonary & Respiratory Research
64. Familial Hypocalciuric Hypercalcaemia (FHH): A Case Report — International Journal of Innovative Research in Medical Science
65. Bullous Lung Disease Mimicking Lung Abscess: A Case Report
66. Non-Tubercular Mycobacteria — needs bibliographic verification
67. Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome: A Case Report — International Journal of Case Reports and Images
68. Chronic Cavitary Aspergillosis — International Journal of Case Reports and Images.

2017

69. Churg–Strauss Syndrome (Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis): A Case Report — International Journal of Case Reports and Images
70. Postherpetic Spinal Segmental Paralysis — International Journal of Case Reports and Images. 
71. “cutaneous sarcoidosis”, 72
72. “Heridatory hpocalcuric hypercalcemia”
73. chronic cavitary aspergillosis