Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute

📣 More than half a million Australians have Atrial Fibrillation (AF), the most common heart arrhythmia which can lead to stroke and heart failure, and we've recently published some pivotal research that has important implications for the treatment of some people with this condition. And there's some good news on this front. Typically, we hear clinicians talking about initiating treatment such as medication but in this case, it’s the reverse. We've shown that for some patients with AF, it is safe to come off heart failure tablets. These findings challenge current clinical practice, and we hope will reshape the approach to these patients and deliver more personalised care. The findings of the WITHDRAW-AF study were published in the European Heart Journal and presented at the meeting of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand recently.   Cardiologist and researcher at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and Alfred Health, Associate Professor Sandeep (Sunny) Prabhu discusses the clinical implications of this research with Dr Norman Swan on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Health Report ➡️https://lnkd.in/gTBvQeNj Louise Segan Peter Kistler David Kaye Shane Nanayakkara Sonia Azzopardi David Chieng Kenneth Cho John Greenwood The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Australian Cardiovascular Alliance Heart Foundation Heart Rhythm Society hearts4heart

Kegan Moneghetti, Clinical Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow, recently shared with ABC Radio listeners how to take care of their hearts to live better for longer, and addressed their concerns about their own heart health. Kegan referred to a new review from the US that shows that following heart-healthy guidance also benefits the body in other surprising ways, including lowering the risk of cancer and dementia. The heart pumps blood to deliver nutrients and oxygen to the brain, the kidneys, the liver and the gut so if we keep our heart healthy, it helps keep our other organs healthy. Listen in from 1:42:00 to find out how to improve our heart health from today. Kegan Moneghetti Mary Gearin Virginia Millen #heartdisease #BetterHealth #EvidenceBasedTreatment #HealthyLifestyles https://lnkd.in/gaDtYsZV

👏 👏 👏A round of applause for #PhD student, Auriane Drack who took out a top three spot in the Falling Walls Lab Australia science communication competition, earning her a trip to Germany to compete in the global summit. Auriane competed in the national final hosted by The Australian Academy of Science at the iconic Shine Dome in Canberra recently. Her presentation ‘Breaking the wall of heart failure,’ was a 3-minute pitch where she had to convince a jury of scientists of the breakthrough potential of her research. Auriane’s research is focused on using silk-based cardiac patches enriched with stem cell-derived nanovesicles to help repair the ❤️ after a heart attack. The Falling Walls Foundation runs these events worldwide to highlight breakthrough ideas from early-career researchers. Each year, around 100 winners from 80 countries come together in Berlin for the Falling Walls Science Summit, which takes place on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. ✈️Auriane is now Berlin-bound! David Greening Alin Rai Iasmin Inocencio Francesca Bolk Jonathon Cross Natasha Patel Jonathan Lozano Taha Aghajanzadeh Haoyun Alexandra Fang #Innovation #PioneeringScience #HeartHealth Heart Foundation Australian Cardiovascular Alliance

As we prepare to wind down tonight, some good reminders today from Dr Jade Murray about the importance of #sleep to our mental health and wellbeing, including that consistency of sleep time is almost as important as sleep duration. Her research into the effects of circadian misalignment on health is close to our ♥️ given it's impact on chronic diseases like #diabetes, #obesity and #heartdisease. Big thanks to our health and wellbeing committee and Jade for today's presentation😴 😴 😴 Niro Pathirage Lys Trsek Morag Young Monica Kanki Lisa Riddell Jo McKeown

We now have the ability to check out energy levels and fat accumulation in the heart muscle, providing unique insights into heart health. We’re excited to have established Australia’s first imaging facility led by Professor Eylem Levelt to monitor this so we can figure out the earliest subtle abnormalities in the heart. The Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy allows a view of the chemistry of the heart muscle so we can take the necessary precautions to improve energy production and reduce the risk of heart failure. 👀Read more about our research in our newly released 2024 Impact Report, Building Momentum designed by our friends U-bahn design https://lnkd.in/gZkfUDV 👀Watch our video to learn more https://lnkd.in/gMrwtCgC Prof Eylem Levelt pictured with radiographers, Bronwyn Murray and Sara Rodriguez Heart Foundation hearts4heart Australian Cardiovascular Alliance Mark Butler Danny Pearson Ben Carroll Georgie Crozier MP Rachel Westaway MP Katherine Hocking

🎉We’re celebrating 20 years of our Bright Sparks Program encouraging the next generation of brilliant minds 👩🔬 👨🔬to pursue groundbreaking discoveries in cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Professor Brian Drew received a Bright Sparks Early Career Scientist grant and is now giving back - supporting early-career researchers including Dr Shannen Walker and Moran Z. in their joint research in Molecular Metabolism and Ageing. Read more about our Bright Sparks Program and innovative research in our 2024 Impact Report, Building Momentum https://lnkd.in/gZkfUDV

We’re delighted to welcome our new Head of Commercialisation, Ash AmirShahi, to the Baker Institute. Ash brings a strong blend of strategic commercialisation expertise, commercial acumen, and partnership-building experience across private industry, academia, and the not-for-profit sector. We’re looking to boost our commercial and partnership capabilities and strengthen research translation across the Institute, which we outline in our new five-year strategic plan, so pleased to have Ash on board to help drive this ambitious agenda. MedTech Actuator MTPConnect LaunchVic mRNA Victoria Michael Spiegel GAICD Lys Trsek Matt Tennant Tracey Ellis Jo McKeown Braden Spencer - MFIA, CFRE Melanie Smith Beth Shalini Neale Cohen

📣 Are you looking for a role where you can change lives? At the Baker Institute, we're undertaking pioneering research to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic options for heart disease, diabetes and obesity. We also run a range of clinics, including a large diabetes clinic, and an education service so we can empower individuals with the knowledge and tools to adopt healthier lifestyles, prevent disease and help live longer and more fulfilling lives. This is what drives our researchers, clinicians, public health experts, diabetes educators, dietitians and professional services staff every day. If you want to join us, check out our career opportunities here, which include a #Dietitian and #DiabetesNurseEducator https://lnkd.in/gj_Z35g #BetterHealth #EvidenceBasedTreatment #Careers #HealthyLifestyles Dietitians Australia Australian Diabetes Educators Association

Beyond Transactions: building meaningful philanthropic partnerships "We often think of a Will as a way to take care of the people we love. But it's also an opportunity to leave a mark — a legacy that reflects your values and beliefs." — Helen Beeby, Campaign Director for Include a Charity This perspective shift from transactional giving to values-based legacy creation is reshaping Australian philanthropy. Include a Charity Week (1–7 Sept) brings together 100+ organisations spanning health, education, arts, humanitarian aid, and environmental sectors. For business leaders and professionals, this represents an opportunity to align personal values with long-term societal impact. Our work exemplifies this alignment — combining scientific rigour with community benefit to address Australia's leading health challenges. Consider: how might your professional expertise complement your philanthropic interests? Learn more about strategic giving approaches at https://lnkd.in/gWkC-DMr #PhilanthropicLeadership #ValuesBasedGiving #SocialImpact #IncludeACharityWeek

👀 Check out this important paper in Nature Reviews Cardiology (Nature Portfolio) by Peter Meikle and Corey Giles. The Australian Cardiovascular disease Data Commons (ACDC) is a platform for discovery and validation of cardiovascular disease mechanisms, biomarkers and predictive risk models. It brings together almost 400,000 individuals from clinical and population cohorts around Australia, many of which have molecular profiling. As the burden of #CVD continues to rise, we must make the most of our existing resources to understand and combat this complex disease. That's why this platform is so important. It will pave the way for researchers to get new mechanistic insights, identify potential biomarkers, create multimodal models and develop personalised risk prediction algorithms for CVD. This is the first paper about the ACDC, which is supported by the #MedicalResearchFutureFund. Big thanks to Mark Butler and the Federal Government for this critical support. Australian BioCommons CAD Frontiers University of Sydney Australian Cardiovascular Alliance Gemma Figtree Bernard Pope Tingting Wang Jean Yang Dr. Steven Manos John Greenwood #Collaboration #Data #HeartHealth #Innovation #PioneeringResearch https://lnkd.in/gxZvRFke