**<1 week to go** Who else is guilty of waiting until the 11th hour? #CSANZ26 abstracts are closing THIS Wednesday. The ECI committee is already brewing up ideas for events alongside the impressive lineup of confirmed speakers so make sure you get your abstract in! www.csanzasm.com

There is still time to submit your article to the special issue of @jmccardiology.bsky.social This is a great opportunity for ECI's to get published in the official journal of ISHR. Deadline is 1st of June sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

Next in our #ECIExcellence2026 series Renping Liu led the EMCR Organising Committee for the Sydney Cardiovascular Symposium and published her first editorial in the Journal of the American Heart Association, expanding her impact in cardiovascular research. 👏🫀

**2 weeks to go** Attention caregivers planning to attend CSANZ2026 in Sydney! Our ECI carer award applications close on the 2 March (same as abstract submission). Details on eligibility and to apply ⬇️ docs.google.com/document/d/1....

CSANZ2026_CarerAward_Form

ISHR Australasia ECI Carer Award Purpose: To facilitate individuals with carer responsibilities to attend the CSANZ 2026 Meeting. The award aims to assist talented researchers to disseminate their f...

docs.google.com

Next in our #ECIExcellence2026 series is Dima Nasrawi 🎉 She published first-author research in Australian Critical Care on post-CABG care pathways and presented phase 1 cardiac rehab insights at the ACNAP Congress in France. Congrats Dima! 👏🫀

We’re excited to highlight @Teleah_Belkin in our #ECIExcellence2026 series. This year she published her first first-author paper in JMCC-PLUS and presented her work at the XXV ISHR World Congress in Nara, Japan, where she received a Monash Travel Grant. 🫀

Continuing our #ECIExcellence2026 series 👏 Congratulations to Dr Clara Liu Chung Ming, recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Best Thesis (2025) at UTS. Her PhD research developed innovative human 'mini-heart' models to study heart attacks and drug-induced cardiotoxicity.

Kicking off our #ECIExcellence2026 series is Anny, awarded a competitive PhD scholarship from ACADI & the University of Melbourne! 🎉 She will research lipid therapies for diabetic cardiorenal syndrome using heart & kidney organoids. Congrats Anny! 👏

The ECI Committee is happy to announce that the Carer Award will be offered again in 2026 for ECIs planning to attend CSANZ2026 in Sydney. Details on eligibility and to apply ⬇️ docs.google.com/document/d/1.... Deadline: 2 March (same as abstract submission).

CSANZ2026_CarerAward_Form

ISHR Australasia ECI Carer Award Purpose: To facilitate individuals with carer responsibilities to attend the CSANZ 2026 Meeting. The award aims to assist talented researchers to disseminate their f...

docs.google.com

Next in our #ECIExcellence2025 series is Dr @ArinolaAkin, awarded an ISH Collaboration Exchange Scholarship! She will spend 4 weeks at North-West University in South Africa, contributing to childhood blood pressure screening and genomics research. Congratulations!👏

Spotlighting Li for #ECIExcellence2025! ✨ Her first publication is out, an editorial on emerging therapies for Friedreich ataxia: doi.org/10.1080/2399... Now beginning her PhD on heart disease in Friedreich ataxia, investigating key gene targets. What a fantastic start!🧬

For our next #ECIExcellence2025 nomination we have Osvaldo from @victorchang.edu.au! We asked for 2 but received a long list of achievements in 2025 🤩 What a stellar year Osvaldo!

**Call for abstracts** Abstract submissions open for CSANZ2026 in Sydney 6-9 August. csanzasm.com/abstracts/ca... For those with carer/child responsibilities ISHR will be offering our carer award for ECIs to help cover extra costs to attend the conference. Details coming soon!

Congratulations to our next #ECIExcellence2025 nominee, @rikeish.bsky.social from Monash University, on launching his first clinical trial, GRAINS-BP! This study investigates how dietary fibres and SCFAs may lower blood pressure through the gut–brain axis.

Our next #ECIExcellence2025 is a special one. We’re celebrating Louise for her outstanding contribution to the ECI Committee over the past 4 years, including 3 as co-chair. Thank you for your leadership, enthusiasm, and dedication. All the best for your next endeavor!

Kicking off our #ECIExcellence2025 nominees we have Sanela Dozic from Monash University! 🎉 Sanela developed a new protocol to isolate heart muscle cells from tiny tissue samples, enabling true biological replicates for proteomics and deeper insights into cardiotoxicity. ❤️🔬

🎉 As the year winds down, it's time to reflect and celebrate! In research, the work may never feel "done" but progress always happens. Whether it's a paper, a breakthrough, or a small lab win, we want to hear it. forms.gle/HhjPJTEwYGD2...

Nominate an excellent ECI

The ISHR Australasia ECI Committee is accepting nominations of early career investigators (students all the way up to 8 years post-PhD) in the cardiovascular research field who have achieved something...

forms.gle

Congratulations to our 2025 Heart Foundation funded researchers, who will share in $13.7 million to support 67 new cardiovascular research projects across Australia. 👏 Find out more about our newly funded researchers and their groundbreaking work. www.heartfoundation.org.au/research?&ut...

🫀 Our new study published this week in Nature Cardiovascular Research identifies a promising new therapeutic target for diabetic heart disease. 🔗 rdcu.be/eIEN4 Funded by HRC & @marsdenfund.bsky.social

Targeted glycophagy ATG8 therapy reverses diabetic heart disease in mice and in human engineered cardiac tissues

Nature Cardiovascular Research - Mellor et al. report that deficiency of GABARAPL1, an ATG8-specific linking protein, impairs diastolic function in diabetic mice. This effect can be reversed by...

rdcu.be

🎉 ECI Excellence 2025 nominations open 🎉 We are calling for nominations of ECIs (students → 8 yrs post-PhD) who achieved something excellent in 2025! ✅ Any achievement counts ✅ Self-nominations welcome ✅ Australasian only 📅 Deadline: 24 Nov 👉https://forms.gle/BxHmfvTurT2J2Soj6

That’s a wrap on another fantastic #CSANZ ASM! Incredible heart research from across AUS & NZ Congratulations to all the presenters, awardees and the council and ECI committee on an outstanding program See you in Sydney for #CSANZ2026 & ISHR 🌎congress 2031 down under!!🦘

Happening now! 🚨 Mechanisms & Preclinical Discovery in Mezzanine 1, with talks from Prof Mathias Francois, Dr James McNamara, Dr Melissa Reichelt, Dr Amy Hanna, and Dr Drew Neavin on gene therapy, heart health, and complex traits. 🔬💡#CSANZ2025

Last day of #CSANZ2025, programme below!

Incredible lineup at #CSANZ2025! Holly Voges on stem cell heart valves, Nathan Palpant on genetic heterogeneity, Simon Foster on fibrosis targets, @milesdeblasio.bsky.social on gene therapy, and Sonia Shah on health inequities. Exciting breakthroughs!

Incredible lineup of presentations from #CSANZ2025, Holly Voges on stem cell heart valves, Nathan Palpant on genetic heterogeneity, Simon Foster on fibrosis targets, and @milesdeblasio.bsky.social on gene therapy for diabetic cardiomyopathy. Exciting breakthroughs!

Professor Eliot Peyster presenting on 'Acute Stress Mechanisms in Cardiovascular Disease', exploring how stress impacts heart health using advanced techniques like digital pathology, spatial profiling, and AI to drive precision medicine breakthroughs. #CSANZ2025

A/Professor Anne K Lagendijk presenting on a novel pathway controlling junctional integrity in veins. Her research dives into how blood vessels adapt and function, using zebrafish models to study vascular health and disease. 🩸💡#CSANZ2025 @vessel-integrity.bsky.social

Professor Walter Thomas is presenting 'Protecting Hearts from Trastuzumab-Induced Cardiomyopathy.' A crucial topic in cardiac health and cancer treatment. #CSANZ2025

Professor Norihiro Kato shares cutting-edge insights on 'Transcriptomics of Cardiovascular Disease – Where Are We?' 🧬🫀 His research explores the genetic and genomic mechanisms behind complex diseases like hypertension and CVD. #CSANZ2025

Huge congratulations to Emma Solly for winning the ISHR ECI Prize Session, and to Amanda Croft for taking out the Student Prize Session! Incredible talks from both – well deserved! 👏🎉 #CSANZ2025