Our vision is to ease the significant burden of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndromes and diseases within Australia and beyond.
We’re working towards a deeper understanding, early detection and prevention of the collective major cause of death and disability in Australia: cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndromes and diseases.
Heart disease, stroke, and the complications from diabetes and kidney disease affect all in our community—from children with congenital heart defects to myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes, renal failure, heart failure and arrhythmias in the elderly.
The development of these disease patterns varies geographically, which means they are influenced beyond genetics by an intricate interplay of environmental, socio-demographic and behavioural factors.
Objective
Our highly collaborative researchers partner with other faculties, world class research centres and institutes, as well as local health clinicians to reduce the significant burden of cardiovascular and metabolic disease throughout NSW, Australia and beyond.
Solution
We facilitate and lead the rapid development of major new research initiatives that tackle heart disease, stroke, vascular disease, diabetes and kidney disease in multiple research arenas. Our areas of focus include primary health care, population health, intensive and critical care, big data in health and clinical trials. Our research underpins targeted preventions and therapeutic interventions, so all Australians can access a better quality of life.
Impact
Our academics and colleagues have a long-standing record of excellence in basic science research through to the translation and application of findings – from the bench, through to populations and across to the bedside. We improve outcomes for all, working within patient communities and addressing key disease risk factors such as raised blood pressure or hypertension, diet, exercise, planetary health, green space and pollution.
Professor Alta Schutte, Principal Lead for the UNSW Medicine & Health CVMM research theme, discusses hypertension control rates in Australia with Professor Markus Schlaich. Why is it important to strive for better control of high blood pressure in a population and how can this be achieved?
This podcast accompanies their MJA Perspective, published here.
With MJA news and online editor, Cate Swannell. 22 mins, 43 secs.
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Funding
The CVMM Theme provides competitive grants for projects that identify and seek to address areas of unmet needs in improving cardiac, vascular and metabolic medicine outcomes in the communities we serve. Our grants also allow opportunities for emerging researchers to lead and develop smaller projects with the potential to feed into larger funding opportunities.
Future rounds will be announced when open.
Previous awards:
2021 Networking Grants
- Dr R Arnold and Dr C Sandler; “Can digital cardiovascular initiatives be applied to Chronic Kidney Disease: A cohort of disproportionate cardiovascular risk?”
- Dr J Snaith; “A novel online tool to diagnose double diabetes using biomarkers: towards cardiovascular risk reduction by personalised adjunctive treatment of insulin resistance in type 1 diabetes”
2021 Big Ideas Grants
- A/Prof X Feng and Prof A Schutte; “Uptake and effectiveness of a UNSW Lifestyle Clinic exercise physiologist intervention for improving physical activity and reducing high blood pressure: A pilot randomised controlled trial”
- A/Prof A Henry and Prof A Patel; “DIVINE: Drug InterVention for prevention of type 2 diabEtes among women with recent prior gestational diabetes – a proposal for formative research”
- Dr L Lin and Prof M Parsons; “Clinical and imaging characterisation of stroke in First Nations, Pacific Islander, and other culturally and linguistically diverse Australian communities”
- Dr Yu and A/Prof B Gallego Luxan; “Cardiovascular Analytics and Innovation (CVAI) data repository: A big data resource for machine learning-enabled research and health systems quality improvement.”
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UNSW Cardiac, Vascular & Metabolic Medicine Governance
Steering Committee
Alta Schutte (Theme Lead) UNSW/The George Institute for Global Health Karen Kool UNSW Medicine & Health Theme Executive Officer Sunil Badve The George Institute for Global Health Xiaoqi Feng School of Population Health Jerry Greenfield The Garvan Institute/St Vincent’s Hospital Jason Kovacic Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute Margaret Morris School of Biomedical Sciences Bruce Neal The George Institute for Global Health Kerry-Anne Rye School of Biomedical Sciences Jamie Vandenberg Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute Mark Parsons UNSW/Liverpool Hospital