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Biography

Dr Nicole Lowres is an early-career postdoctoral research fellow, holding a NSW Health Early Career Fellowship. Her research interests are atrial fibrillation and secondary prevention of cardiac disease.

Nicole is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Peter Bancroft prize for her PhD thesis being awarded without emendations, and CSANZ Allied Health and Technologist’s Affiliate prize. Nicole’s research has received significant media coverage, including television national news segments and an invited televised studio interview at TEDx 2014.

She is an active member of AF-SCREEN International collaboration, CSANZ and ACRA.

Selected prizes and awards

2018 Winner – CSANZ Preventative and Clinical Cardiology Prize session

2016 Peter Bancroft Prize (in recognition of quality of Thesis, being awarded without amendment or emendation)

2016 CSANZ Clinical Development Award

2015 RACGP/MDA National Best General Practice Research Article in Australian Family Physician (AFP) Award

2012 Winner – CSANZ Allied Health and Technologist’s Affiliate prize session

Selected funding and grants

Funding

2017 NSW Health Early Career Postdoctoral Fellowship (H16/ 52168).

Travel grants

2018 Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN) Carers Travelling Scholarship to the ESC congress

2015 Concord Research Travelling Scholarship

Grants

2016–2018 CI-A: NSW CVRN grant (101133). Using iPhones to screen for atrial fibrillation in general practice clinics to prevent stroke

2014–2015 CI-A: Competitive grant from Sydney Medical Foundation. Using innovative technology to identify postoperative atrial fibrillation in cardiac surgical patients after hospital discharge

2018–2020 CI-B: Investigator Initiated Grant from Bristol Myers Squibb/Pfizer. Screening for atrial fibrillation in rural general practice

2016 CI-B: Vanguard grant. Identifying early recurrent post-operative atrial fibrillation to prevent stroke

2016–2017 CI-B: Investigator Initiated Grant from a private medical research foundation. Postoperative AF

2015 CI-B: Vanguard grant. Screening Education And Recognition by primary Care pHysician of Atrial Fibrillation for prevention of stroke – through handheld ECG screening and electronic decision support software

Projects

Collaboration with researchers in Toyama (Japan) to investigate the incremental yield of annual screening

Patient self-screening using a smartphone ECG to identify recurrence of postoperative atrial fibrillation after non-cardiac surgery and medical admissions in Concord Hospital, Royal Perth Hospital, and Gosford Hospital

Collaboration with the Poche Centre to screen for atrial fibrillation in Aboriginal Australians in remote and rural NSW, NT, and WA

Patient self-screening for atrial fibrillation in general practice using screening stations