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The internationally-recognised medical research institute put its name behind a recent gathering of vascular biology experts who met in Sydney in September to discuss important breakthroughs in atherosclerosis, inflammation, thrombosis, angiogenesis, endothelial function, hypertension and diabetes.

The joint scientific meeting of the Australian Vascular Biology Society (AVBS), the Australia/New Zealand Microcirulation Society (ANZMS) and the Asia/Australia Vascular Biology Meeting (AAVBM) was co-chaired by a national organising committee including HRI researchers Simone Schoenwaelder and Sian Cartland, and involved multiple presentations from a diverse range of HRI specialists. More than 130 researchers from all over the world including NZ, Canada, US, Korea, Singapore, Japan and China attended this Joint Meeting of Vascular Biology.

The HRI is proud to put our sup­port behind gath­er­ings of lead­ing sci­en­tists who are work­ing to dis­sem­i­nate and dis­cuss cut­ting-edge fun­da­men­tal and applied vas­cu­lar research,” says the institute’s direc­tor Pro­fes­sor Shaun Jack­son. This unique col­lab­o­ra­tion in vas­cu­lar biol­o­gy is solv­ing some of the biggest mys­ter­ies sur­round­ing the health of our blood ves­sels and cir­cu­lat­ing cells and diseases.”

The meeting is just one of many ways the HRI supports heart research breakthroughs in Australia.

The shar­ing of infor­ma­tion in these impor­tant meet­ings ensures local researchers are abreast of the very lat­est sci­en­tif­ic find­ings that can be put to the test in our lab­o­ra­to­ries and rolled out in our hos­pi­tals,” Pro­fes­sor Jack­son says. Main­tain­ing this rapid trans­la­tion of find­ings is a major dri­ver behind the HRI’s work to sup­port research.”

Of the HRI researchers who presented, Freda Passam talked on mechano-redox control of integrin Mac-1 thromboinflammation, while Mike Wu offered findings on the tricky play of dying endothelium with red blood cells and platelets. The HRI’s Jessica Maclean addressed the group on the topic of recanalization and cerebral perfusion with adjunctive thrombolytic therapies in ischemic stroke, while Manisha Patil presented on cell-specific functions of TRAIL critical for angiogenesis and vessel stabilisation Both Jessica Maclean and Manisha Patil were awarded with AVBS Best Student Oral Presentation and ANZMS Best Student Poster Award, respectively. Ashish Misra talked on clonality and plasticity of plaque cells in atherosclerosis while Sian Cartland revealed why TRAIL-expressing macrophages are critical for reducing inflammation and atherosclerosis. Dr Cartland and Arnold Ju co-chaired different vascular sessions, as did Dr Schoenwaelder, who is part president (2017-2018) and current secretary (2019-2020) of the Australian Vascular Biology Society.

HRI is focused on reducing rates of cardiovascular disease, Australia’s number one killer. Much of the burden caused by cardiovascular disease is preventable, with major modifiable risk factors including smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, insufficient physical activity, obesity, diabetes, poor nutrition, and excessive intake of alcohol. Other risk factors that are beyond our control include age, gender, family history and ethnicity.

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