Research Highlights

Breakthrough findings on the biological functions and translational importance of plasminogen activation and extracellular proteolysis – key molecules and chemical pathways in a vast number of biological processes – were presented at the recent Plasminogen Activation and Extracellular Proteolysis Gordon Research Seminar.

Scientists at Heart Research Institute have engineered multifunctional nanoparticles that can effectively work as ‘nanocarriers’, hauling a wide range of molecules including drugs or genetic material, to exactly where it needs to go in the body. These super-charged nanoparticles with truck-like power and GPS-style precision are poised to change the way medication is delivered to sick Australians.

For Dr Miguel Santos, science has always been a path he knew he wanted to follow. “Be curious. Be determined. Don’t be afraid to do things differently and push the boundaries to make great discoveries.”

The world’s most luxurious fabric could soon be used to weave blood vessels that offer life to heart bypass patients, a breakthrough HRI study has found. Scientists at HRI in Sydney built and tested silk blood vessels and discovered they’re more effective and better tolerated than synthetic materials currently used in Australian hospitals. 

HRI researchers have developed a simple test to predict diabetes more than a decade before it strikes, a breakthrough that could help ease the impending diabetes epidemic. The team has uncovered an important molecule found in liver fat that can identify who is most at risk of developing diabetes and other cardio-metabolic disorders like liver disease.