Sydney Cardiovascular Symposium Program
Download the full program here, or take a sneak peek at what’s in store below.
Day 1 - Thursday 20 November
8:00-9:00 Coffee and registration
9:00-9:10 Welcome to Country
Speaker: Uncle Raymond Weatherall
9:10-9:15 Welcome to the Sydney Cardiovascular Symposium 2025
Professor Andrew Coats AO Heart Research Institute, NSW
9:15-10:00 Sydney Cardiovascular Symposium Lecture
Sponsored talk by The Office of Health and Medical Research (OHMR)
Chair: Professor Andrew Coats AO
Professor Dana Dawson, The University of Aberdeen, UK
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy- Organ Cross-talk and Clinical Trials
10:00-10:50 Session 1: Organ cross-talk in health and disease
(Presentation: 20 minutes, Questions: 5 minutes)
Sponsored talk by AstraZeneca
Chairs: Associate Professor Clare Arnott
10:00 Professor Andrew Coats AO, The Heart Research Institute, NSW
Organ Cross-talk: Clinical Perspective of Co-morbidities in Heart Failure
10:25 Professor Luigi Fontana, The University of Sydney, NSW
The Role of Nutrition and Exercise in Modulating Cardiometabolic Health: Strategies for Prevention and Optimisation
10:50-11:10 Morning tea
11:10-12:30 Session 2: Heart and brain
(Presentation: 20 minutes, Questions: 5 minutes)
Chairs: Professor Ben Freedman OAM and Professor Julie McMullen
11:10 Professor Perminder Sachdev, The University of New South Wales, NSW
The Interplay of Heart and Brain Health
11:35 Dr Sonali Gnanenthiran, The George Institute, NSW
Blood Pressure Control after Stroke: Current Evidence and Emerging Frontiers
12:00 Dr Lin Yee Chen, University of Minnesota, USA
Atrial Myopathy - A Target for Stroke and Dementia Prevention
12:30-14:00 Lunch
13:00-14:00 Poster judging session
14:00-15:40 Session 3: Inflammation and organ cross-talk
(Presentation: 20 minutes, Questions: 5 minutes)
Chairs: Dr Ashish Misra and Dr Renping Liu
14:00 Professor Edward A Fisher, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, USA
Metabolic and Psychological Stress and Atherosclerosis: Intersection at the Bone Marrow
14:25 Dr Siân Cartland, The Heart Research Institute, NSW
Reprogramming Inflammation: Can Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells be Therapeutic Targets in Atherosclerosis?
14:50 Professor John O'Sullivan, The University of Sydney, NSW
Metainflammatory Driven Strategies for HFpEF – A 21st Century Epidemic
15:15-15:40 Flash talks
(Presentation: 5 minutes, Questions: 3 minutes)
Chairs: Elaina Kelland
15:15 Lauren Watson, The Heart Research Institute, NSW
Exercise has Differential Cardiometabolic Benefits in Male and Female Mice on a High-Fat Diet
15:23 Niina Matthews, The University of Technology Sydney, NSW
Human Size Bioprinted Cardiac Patches for Heart Failure Patients
15:31 Wendy (Huiwen) Zhao, The University of Sydney, NSW
Designing Human Platelets with Improved Reactivity for Cardiovascular Disease
15:40-16:00 Afternoon tea
16:00-17:00 Session 4: Panel discussion on research career progression/pathways
Chairs: Dr Emma Rath and Dr Cindy Gueguen
Panellists:
Professor Bronwyn Kingwell, CSL Ltd, VIC
Professor Mathias Francois, University of Sydney, NSW
Dr Gavin Recchia, Davies Collision Cave, NSW
17:00 Poster session (viewing) and networking drinks
18:30 Late speakers’ dinner by invitation
Day 2 - Friday 21 November
8:00-9:00 Coffee and registration
9:00-10:15 Session 1: Cardiometabolism
(Presentation: 20 minutes, Questions: 5 minutes)
Chairs: Professor Jamie Vandenberg and Dr Ivy Chiang
09:00 Professor Leonie Heilbronn, The University of Adelaide, SA
Time Restricted Eating: Impacts on 24-Hour Blood Pressure Profiles and Cardiometabolic Outcomes
09:25 Professor Nigel Turner, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, NSW Reduced Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Improves Metabolic Profile of High Fat Diet-Fed Mice
09:50 Professor Alex Brown, The Australian National University, ACT
Precision Medicine in Indigenous Health
10:15-10:45 Morning tea
10:45-12:40 Session 2: Heart and organ cross-talk
(Presentation: 20 minutes, Questions: 5 minutes)
Chairs: Associate Professor Jacob Qi
10:45 Professor Natasha Rogers, Western Sydney Local Health District NSW
Finding Missing Links in Cardiorenal Syndrome
11:10 Dr Weizhen (Eva) Li, The Heart Research Institute, NSW
NOTCH3 at the Fat–Artery Crossroads in Atherosclerosis
11:35-12:15 Flash Talks
(Presentation: 5 minutes, Questions: 3 minutes)
Chairs: Dr Clara Liu Chung Ming
11:35 Lee Patricia Liao, The University of Sydney, NSW
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet, Incident Heart Failure and its Associated Risk Factors in Australian Women
11:43 Dr Javad Foroughi, The University of New South Wales, NSW
Artificial Muscle Based Soft Robotic Sleeve for End-Stage Heart Failure Treatment
11:51 Amandeep Mondal, The Heart Research Institute, NSW
Lactate-Dependent Reprogramming of Macrophages is Associated with Fibrous Cap Formation and Atherosclerotic Plaque Stability
11:59 Dr Jaideep Singh, The Heart Research Institute, NSW
Novel Formylpeptide Receptor 1/2 Agonist Limits Hypertension-Induced Cardiovascular Damage
12:07 Hannah Parker, The University of Sydney, NSW
Investigating the Effects of In Utero High-Saccharide Exposure on Fetal Heart Development and Cardiovascular Health in Offspring
12:15-12:20
Dr Seakcheng Lim, CVRN
Introduction to the NSW CVRN
12:20-12:40
Jason Boyd, Principal Policy Officer, Evaluation and Reporting, OHMR
Cathy Kellick, Principal Policy Officer, Research Grants, OHMR
Interim Evaluation of NSW Cardiovascular Research Capacity Program
12:40-13:10 Lunch
13:10-14:45 Session 3: Rising stars award
(Presentation: 15 minutes, Questions: 5 minutes)
Chairs: Dr Fergus Payne and Dr Ivy Guan
13:10 Alexander Lin, The Heart Research Institute, NSW
Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell PDGFRβ Signalling Regulates Fibrous Cap Fibroblast-like Cells and Stability of Diabetic Atherosclerotic Lesions
13:30 Dr Lucy McGrath-Cadell, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, NSW
High and Variable Endothelial Shear Stress Characterises Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection: An Imaging Case-Control Study
13:50 Dr Robert Hume, The University of Sydney, NSW
Do Human Hearts Have an Intrinsic Regenerative Potential? Cardiomyocyte Mitosis Post-Myocardial Infarction
14:10-14:42 Flash talks
(Presentation: 5 minutes, Questions: 3 minutes)
Chairs: Dr Fergus Payne
14:10 Wei Yi Lew, The University of Sydney, NSW
Rapid On-Demand Monitoring of Valsartan and Sacubitril at the Point of Care with Miniature Mass Spectrometry
14:18 Lauren Cook, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, NSW
Developing an iPSC Model of Epicardial Adipose Tissue-Mediated Atrial Fibrillation
14:26 Dr Tim Shiraev, The University of Sydney, NSW
Medium-term Outcomes of a Novel Arterial Graft in a Large Animal Model
14:34 Ramu Dumre, University of Wollongong, NSW
Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation Appears to Elicit an Omega-3 Index Response Irrespective of Dietary Patterns; Vegan/Vegetarian or
Non-Restrictive
14:45-16:00 Session 4: Heart disease: Early origins and diabetes
(Presentation: 20 minutes, Questions: 5 minutes)
Chairs: Associate Professor Emily Wong and Dr Zijing (Albert) Zhou
14:45 Professor Sally Dunwoodie, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, NSW
NAD Deficiency and Congenital Heart Disease
15:10 Dr Magda Montgomery, The University of Melbourne, VIC, Understanding the Endocrine Function of the Heart in Type 2 Diabetes
15:35 Associate Professor Mary Kavurma, The Heart Research Institute, NSW
Sex Differences and Mitochondrial Endothelial Health Influence Vascular Recovery in Diabetes-Associated Peripheral Artery Disease
16:00-16:15 Afternoon tea
16:15-17:30 The Princesses’ Lecture
Sponsored by UNSW Cardiac, Vascular and Metabolic Medicine (CVMM)
Chairs: Professor Jason Kovacic
Professor Filip K. Swirski, Mount Sinai, USA
Heart-Brain Communication in Health and Disease
17:30 Symposium close
Professor Julie McMullen, The Heart Research Institute, NSW
17:40-18:30 Networking drinks and awards