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The Heart Research Institute's research team is made up of medical researchers and clinicians who work tirelessly on the early detection, prevention and reversal of heart disease. The Heart Research Institute's Senior Research Group Leaders are:
Professor Barter has been the Director of The Heart Research Institute since early 2003. Previously he worked in research institutes in Australia and the USA. His basic research interests include plasma lipids and lipoproteins, specifically high density lipoproteins, the factors (including CETP) that regulate them and the mechanism by which they protect against coronary heart disease. Professor Barter's clinical research interests include clinical trials of lipid-lowering agents. He is a member of the steering committees of several large international multi-centre morbidity and mortality endpoint trials, including the TNT and FIELD trials. He is currently chairman of the steering committee of large international multi-centre morbidity and mortality endpoint trials of the effects of a new CETP inhibitor. Professor Barter has published over 200 research papers in international peer-reviews journals.
Herbert Ayala was appointed Director, Biological Facilities in April 2007. Over the past 16 years, Herbert worked at Macquarie University (1998 - 2007) and the University New South Wales (1991 - 1998), where he gained extensive experience in Biological Research. He worked for 9 years at Macquarie University’s Research Office as an Advisor and he served the various ethics committees to ensure scientific practices complied with Australian legislation. As a member of the Pathogen Free Unit at the University of New South Wales, Herbert conducted research related to genetics and breeding.
David Celermajer has been a Group Leader of the Clinical Research Group since 1994. During 2003 he was appointed as the Clinical Director of the Heart Research Institute. He is also the Scandrett Professor of Cardiology at the University of Sydney in the Department of Medicine, the Director of Echocardiography in the Cardiology Department at RPAH and Staff Cardiologist at the Children's Hospital, Westmead.
Jeffrey Cohn has recently arrived at the Heart Research Institute and is the Group Leader of the Nutrition and Metabolism Group. For the last 12 years, he has been working at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal in Canada. His research focused on the structure and function of pro- and anti-atherogenic lipoproteins, on their metabolism in health and disease, and on their modification by diet and drug treatment. His current research will explore the possibility that certain phospholipids in the diet can protect against the onset and development of atherosclerosis. This work will establish whether particular phospholipids can be used as nutraceuticals or dietary supplements to reduce the incidence of coronary artery disease.
Michael Davies is the Deputy Director of The Heart Research Institute. He has been the Head of the Free Radical Group since 1995. He had previously worked at the University of York in the UK where he refined his interest in free radical biochemistry. In 1996 he became an Australian Research Council QEII Fellow, and in 2000 he became an Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow. In 2003 he was awarded the Silver Medal of the International ESR/EPR Society for his work in biology and medicine.
Clare Hawkins is the leader of the Inflammation Group. She gained her PhD in Chemistry at the University of York, England, before taking up a postdoctoral position at the Heart Research Institute, in the Free Radical Group. Her ability to conduct high quality research was recognised by the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1998, by the award of the Chartered Chemist qualification. In 2002, she became a NHMRC R. Douglas Wright Biomedical Fellow, which gave her the opportunity to develop as an independent researcher. This achievement was recognised by the Heart Research Institute in February 2007, by the creation of the Inflammation Group.
Alison Heather moved the Gene Regulation Group to HRI in December 2003. She gained her BSc(Hons) and PhD in microbiology at the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney. In 1996 she started post-doctoral work at the Department of Medicine (Endocrinology), University of Sydney, researching gene dysregulation in diabetic kidney disease. She subsequently was appointed an Endocrinology and Diabetes Research Trust Fellow (1999-2003, University of Sydney) and established a Molecular Endocrinology group focusing on hormones and atherosclerosis.
Annemarie Hennessy established the Vascular Immunology Group at The Heart Research Institute in 2002. She is also a physician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Women's and Babies at RPAH. Her main research interests are the links between pregnancy and cardiovascular disease in later life and the effects of pregnancy on the mother's blood vessels.
Dr Martin Ng is the leader of The Translational Research and Bioengineering Group, which was established in February, 2006. His main research interests include investigating how new blood vessels are formed in patients suffering from blocked arteries, a process known as 'angiogenesis'. Dr Ng had previously served as an NHMRC CJ Martin Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford University School of medicine in California. Upon his return to Australia, Dr Ng, has focused on developing new biotechnological treatments for suffers of cardiovascular disease, whose blocked arteries require treatments beyond the currently available bypass or angioplasty. Dr Ng is also a current Interventional Cardiologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Ken Rodgers studied pharmacy in Glasgow and trained as a pharmaceutical chemist in the United Kingdom. He had 10 years experience in pharmacy practice and in the pharmaceutical industry before immigrating to Australia. He gained his PhD from the University of Sydney and was then awarded a Pfizer Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out research at the Bristol Heart Institute in England. He then returned to Australia to join The Heart Research Institute and continue his research on mechanisms of atherosclerotic plaque rupture. He was appointed head of the Cell Biology Group in 2005.
Kerry-Anne Rye was appointed Group Leader of the Lipid Research Group at the beginning of 2003. She is also a National Heart Foundation of Australia Principal Research Fellow. Over the past 15 years Professor Rye has pioneered the use of unique model systems for studying high-density lipoproteins (HDL) metabolism. She is currently using these particles to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties high density lipoproteins. Recently she was appointed as Chair of the Organising committee for the 5th International Atherosclerosis Society HDL Workshop, which will be held in Santorini, Greece, in October 2007.
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