Innovation Grant Winners 2024
Winners of the 2024 NSW CVRN-VCCRI Research Innovation Grants Unveiled
29 February 2024
Congratulations are in order to four stand-out early to mid-career researchers who will now have access to the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute’s Innovation Centre to support their short term projects focused on cardiovascular research.
The emerging scientists will also benefit from access to the Innovation Centre’s highly skilled staff, as well as being able to utilise the multi-million-dollar equipment and technology.
The four winners of the 2024 NSW CVRN-VCCRI Research Innovation Grants
- Dr Leila Reyes, from the Westmead Institute for Medical research, who will use the Centre’s Stem Cell Production Facility and the Cell Function and Screening Facility to investigate the generation of low arrhythmogenic induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes to treat severe heart failure.
- UNSW’s Dr Yunjia (Carmen) Zhang who will utilise the Stem Cell Production Facility and the Cell Function and Screening Facility to undertake research into restoring cardiac function after myocardial infarction with a novel anti-inflammatory therapeutic peptide.
- USYD’s Associate Professor Belinda Gray, who is also a cardiologist, will also use these same facilities to better understand the anatomical basis to ECG changes in female athletes.
- The Institute’s very own rising star Dr Osvaldo Contreras will use the Micro Imaging Facility and Biomedical Data Science Facility to study the human cell cycle and chromatin remodelling in response to DNA replication stress.
This is the fourth year the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI) has partnered with the NSW Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN) on this project and we are thrilled by the incredible standard of the applicants and note the support given by the NSW Government.
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For all media enquiries and interview requests, please contact:
Julia Timms
Head, Media & Communications
j.timms@victorchang.edu.au
0457 517 355
Acknowledgement of Country
The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.
