The Foundation funds the following researchers:
Dr Edward Barin
MBBS (USyd) MMed (USyd) FRACP FCSANZ
.jpg "Dr Edward Barin")
Director
Cardiac Rhythm Management Unit
Department of Cardiology
Royal North Shore Hospital
Edward Barin is a Senior Cardiologist at Royal North Shore Hospital, where he directs the pacemaker and implanted devices clinic. The Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) Research Unit has a specialty interest in remote monitoring of devices used to treat heart rhythm disorders. International clinical trials are under way to determine the best and safest ways of using the internet to remotely monitor patients with devices. The team is also developing spectral analysis of the electrocardiogram (ESG - the ElectrospectroGram) to provide new insights into electromechanical function of the heart by using non-linear dynamics.
Read about Dr Barin's research
Dr Levi Bassin
BSc (Comp Sci) MBBS (Hons)
PhD Candidate, University of Sydney
Cardiac Technology Centre
Royal North Shore Hospital
Levi Bassin is a surgical trainee with a background in software development. He is currently undertaking a PhD at the Cardiac Technology Centre. His research focus is on the electrophysiological changes that accompany stroke and hypothermia. His clinical research interests include outcomes in aortic and paediatric cardiac surgery.
Read about Dr Bassin's research
Dr Ravinay Bhindi
MBBS PhD FRACP FESC
Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney
Department of Cardiology
Royal North Shore Hospital
Ravinay Bhindi completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Oxford University, after which he became a Clinical Senior Lecturer in medicine at the University of Sydney. In 2008 he joined Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital as an interventional cardiologist. His research aims to identify the cause of veins becoming blocked several years after bypass surgery. The results could lead to preventative treatment, which would increase patients' life expectancy and reduce the risks of repeat surgery.
How does Dr Bhindi do his research?
Dr Thomas Buckley
RN BSc (Hons) MN PhD
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery
University of Sydney
Tom Buckley is a senior lecturer and researcher at the University of Sydney, and an experienced cardiology and intensive care nurse. He completed his PhD study with the Department of Cardiology at Royal North Shore Hospital and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in 2008. The focus was on evaluating cardiovascular risk in early bereavement. Collaborating with researchers at Royal North Shore, the Northern Blood Research Centre and UTS, he continues to pursue his interest in the links between emotional stress and cardiovascular risk.
Read about Dr Buckley's research
Associate Professor Gemma Figtree
MBBS (Hons 1) DPhil (Oxon) FCSANZ
Staff Specialist, Cardiology
Royal North Shore Hospital
Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney
Gemma Figtree is as a cardiologist who is committed to both basic and translational cardiovascular research. She gained a DPhil in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford, with the support of a Rhodes Scholarship. She holds the Chapman Fellowship at Sydney Medical School and has recently been awarded the Viertel Clinical Investigatorship.
With experience in molecular biology, Gemma is working with Professor Helge Rasmussen at Royal North Shore Hospital. The focus of this research is the role of oxidative signalling in the regulation of the sodium pump in heart cells. She is also interested in the molecular mechanisms of myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury and works closely with Dr Ravi Bhindi in this area.
Gemma leads a project to set up a cardiac MRI research unit at Royal North Shore Hospital. She is a principal investigator investigating possible genetic contributors to tako-tsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy. She is principal investigator on two current National Health and Medical Research Council project grants. She has strong collaborative links with researchers in Oxford, London, Denmark and Boston.
Read about Dr Figtree's research:
The sodium pump and heart failure treatment
Professor Stephen Hunyor
MD (USyd) MBBS MTM (Griff) FRACP FACC
Professor of Medicine, University of Sydney
Director, Cardiac Technology Centre
Royal North Shore Hospital
Stephen Hunyor is a cardiologist with particular expertise in hemodynamics, cardiac mechanics and whole-heart energetics in sheep models. His current research focus is on heart damage and repair. As Director of the Cardiac Technology Centre he leads a team of nine scientists who are investigating the use of stem cells as a way to renew damaged heart muscle.
Read about Professor Hunyor's research
Dr Keyvan Karimi Galougahi
MD MRCP
PhD Candidate, University of Sydney
Heart Research Group
Royal North Shore Hospital
Keyvan Karimi Galougahi is an advanced trainee in medicine with an interest in cardiology at Royal North Shore Hospital. Prior to this Keyvan did his postgraduate training in medicine in the UK and obtained the Membership of Royal College of Physicians of London.
He is currently undertaking his PhD with the Heart Research Group at Royal North Shore Hospital. The focus of his research is the role of oxidative signalling in the regulation of the sodium pump in heart cells in chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart failure.
Read more about Dr Galougahi's research
Associate Professor Martin Kluckow
MBBS FRACP PhD
University of Sydney
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Royal North Shore Hospital
Martin Kluckow is a neonatologist at Royal North Shore Hospital, where he regularly uses and teaches echocardiography and cranial ultrasound. Since 1990 he has been researching ways to improve heart function in premature babies. He and his team are currently undertaking a clinical trial to determine the best way to manage patent ductus arteriosus, a serious heart problem in preterm babies.
Read about Professor Kluckow's research
Dr Chia-Chi Liu
BSc (Hons) MSc (Biochem) MSc (BioTech) PhD
Senior Postdoctoral Scientist
North Shore Heart Research Group
University of Sydney
Chia-Chi Liu is a senior cardiac researcher at the University of Sydney, and is based at North Shore Heart Research Group at Royal North Shore Hospital. She completed her PhD in chemistry and bio-molecular science at Macquarie University in 2007 and was appointed a post-doctorate research fellow in 2008.
Dr Liu is using her extensive research expertise and knowledge to investigate the relationship between oxidative stress and the sodium pump function in the heart muscle and erythrocytes in animal models and human. She also focuses on development of new diagnostic methods of oxidative damage of the pump and discovery of new drugs for heart disease. This offers promise of successful prevention and potential treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Read more about Dr Liu's research
2011 publications and conferences
Brad McEwen
MHlthSc (Hum. Nutr.), Grad. Cert. HlthSc (Hum. Nutr.), BHlthSc
PhD candidate, University of Sydney
Northern Blood Research Centre
Royal North Shore Hospital
Brad McEwen is a nutritionist with over 10 years experience along with several qualifications in health science and nutrition. His research focus is on the effects of diet and nutrition on cardiovascular risk. In the area of prevention of heart disease, he is investigating the potential role of omega-3 (for example, found in fish oil) in the prevention of major vascular disease.
Dr Gregory Nelson
MBBS FRACP FCSANZ
Director of Interventional Cardiology
Royal North Shore Hospital
Gregory Nelson has been practising as a consultant cardiologist for over 20 years. He has a strong interest in interventional cardiology, and led the pilot study on emergency triage in acute myocardial infarction (ETAMI). He has co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, many of which have been recognised internationally.
Together with Professor Helge Rasmussen, Dr Nelson was responsible for developing a program at Royal North Shore which saw mortality rates from heart attack drop to a world-beating 2%
Professor Helge Rasmussen
MD DMSc FRACP
Chair of Cardiology, University of Sydney
Department of Cardiology
Royal North Shore Hospital
Helge Rasmussen divides his time between working as an interventional cardiologist and leading a team of researchers in molecular and cellular medicine.
A particular focus of his research is on learning how heart cells work, which has led to discoveries that could mean better treatment for heart failure and other forms of cardiovascular disease.
In 2011, he was awarded the RT Hall Prize, the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand’s most prestigious award, for his outstanding contribution to the field of cardiology.
Together with Dr Nelson, Professor Rasmussen was responsible for developing a program at Royal North Shore which saw mortality rates from heart attack drop to a world-beating 2%.
Read about Professor Rasmussen's research
Jason Seow
Dip Chemical Process Technology (DipCPT)
BSc (Hons) (Developmental biology) (BSc, Hons)
BSc (Biomedical and molecular cell biology) (BSc)
PhD Candidate, University of Sydney
Cardiac Technology Centre
Royal North Shore Hospital
Jason Seow brings strong experience in biomedical, developmental and cell biology to the Cardiac Technology Centre, where is he currently undertaking his PhD. Before this, Jason worked at the Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genome Institute of Singapore, on cancer biology and stem cell research.
With support from the Foundation, Jason is studying the therapeutic and self repair mechanisms of the damaged heart, using bone marrow and stem cells.
Professor Geoffrey Tofler
MBBS MB FRACP FACC
Chair of Preventive Cardiology, University of Sydney
Head, Preventive Cardiology and Epidemiology
Royal North Shore Hospital
Geoffrey Tofler is Honorary Medical Director of the North Shore Heart Research Foundation. He has 20 years' experience as a clinical consultant cardiologist, including 13 years at Harvard Medical School Hospital in Boston. His expertise is in the prevention of heart disease and management of heart failure. Current research includes triggers for heart attack and the links between bereavement and heart health.
Read about Professor Tofler's research:
Dr Michael Ward
MBBS (Hons) FRACP PhD DDU FCSANZ
Head, Vascular Biology Laboratory
Royal North Shore Hospital
Michael Ward maintains a mix of coronary intervention, clinical research and basic research into the fundamental mechanisms of arterial remodelling. His clinical research interests include tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy, mechanisms of late stent thrombosis, and optimising outcomes in high-risk coronary intervention.
