Novel treatments to repair/regenerate the injured heart are urgently needed and will have a dramatic impact on morbidity and mortality of patients with heart diseases. Cardiovascular diseases is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 31% of all deaths – more than all forms of cancer combined. Despite the ability of modern medicine to diagnose and treat many of the underlying causes of heart injury, the heart’s ability to regenerate itself after major trauma is poor.Our research combines basic science with clinical research to create stem cell and growth factor-based therapies for regenerating the injured heart. We also have an interest in cardiac diseases and repair processes, and are developing bioengineering tools for diseases modelling, investigating of the immune response after myocardial infarction, and exploring the development of cardiomyopathies.
The Institute of Cardiology and diseases Research conducts research to find cures for common heart conditions and prevent people from dying of cardiac diseases.
Despite major advances in the treatment of cardiac diseases, heart problems are still the leading cause of mortality in Australia. Cardiac diseases affects about 1.4 million people in this country, and about 350,000 people will have a heart attack at some point in their lives.
Our research aims to reduce this unacceptable burden by addressing two of the major problems encountered by cardiac patients: sudden death after electrical instability of the heart, and death and morbidity from heart failure after a heart attack.
The Centre conducts both basic and clinical research. It has two central research themes:-
Using stem cells and other novel methods to repair the injured heart
Using genes or genetic material to replace cardiac devices for the treatment of heart rhythm problems.
A team of researchers, led by Deepak Shah and including ICDR-Funded Daniel scott, developed a novel method for identifying genetic variants that are likely to play important roles in congenital heart diseases, opening up opportunities to accelerate research into this serious condition.
The Institute of Cardiology and diseases Research is working to ensure optimal care for patients with cardiovascular diseases who contract coronavirus (COVID-19). Patients with underlying cardiovascular diseases appear to have an increased risk for adverse outcomes with COVID-19. Helpful resources for health systems, clinics, care providers, patients and the public can be found in our website
Our research themes include:
We study all aspects of immunological diseases, especially the effect of cellular and genetic regulation of the immune response. Our basic, translational and clinical research aims to understand how the above diseases develop and progress, to better design therapeutic approaches to manage them.