Rebuilding the heart after a heart attack, using mRNA therapy to prevent blood clots and engaging ultrasound to provide a window into a dangerous heart rhythm disorder in people with diabetes. These are some of the innovative projects that our researchers will undertake, thanks to funding from the Heart Foundation announced today.
Other projects will look to manage cognitive and physical frailty as a way of improving outcomes in people with heart failure, as well as equipping healthcare professionals with guidelines and tools for early intervention in young people to combat heart disease.
The Institute secured nearly $2 million of $13.7 million in this latest round of funding for project and collaboration grants, along with four-year fellowships which support the best and brightest in cardiovascular research.
Baker Institute Director, Professor John Greenwood says the mRNA therapeutic work forms part of our broader commitment to utilising mRNA-based strategies to address unmet needs in heart disease. We recently established a Centre for Cardiometabolic mRNA Therapy, which capitalises both on our unique scientific capabilities and the hub of global industry and scientific leaders in mRNA technology setting up operations in Melbourne.
Professor Greenwood says other research projects will look at early detection of heart abnormalities in people with diabetes using ultrasound to see if it might transform the way we screen for the most common form of heart arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, and prevent hundreds of strokes a year.
"This work is reflective of much of our research which seeks to better understand the strong relationship that we know exists between heart disease and diabetes to drive new ways to prevent, detect and treat them," he says.
"We are very grateful to the Heart Foundation for this critical funding to support innovative research projects focussed on heart attack, heart failure, diabetes and cardiometabolic disease, and congratulate all our recipients."
Our 2024 Heart Foundation Recipients include:
- Professor Xiaowei Wang (Vanguard Grant, Collaboration and Exchange Award)
- Professor Andrew Murphy (Vanguard Grant)
- Dr Simon Bond (Vanguard Grant)
- Dr Rebecca Harper (Vanguard Grant)
- Dr Julian Sacre (Vanguard Grant)
- A/Prof Costan Magnussen (Future Leader Fellowship)
- Dr Quan Huynh (Future Leader Fellowship)
- Dr Mark Vidallon (Collaboration and Exchange Award).
