Four researchers from The George Institute for Global Health have been awarded prestigious Heart Foundation grants for their innovative projects tackling cardiovascular disease - Australia's leading cause of death, responsible for around 17,000 deaths each year.1
Projects ranging from national food policy reform to rapid stroke diagnosis and heart failure prevention, these new studies have the potential to transform the way we prevent, diagnose, and treat heart disease.
Associate Professor Alexandra Jones is harnessing the power of the law to create a healthier food environment
Backed by a Future Leader Fellowship, this four-year project will investigate how legal reforms could help curb diet-related heart disease in Australia.
The research focuses on two strategies - making Health Star Ratings mandatory on all packaged foods and setting legal limits on salt and sugar in select products (an approach that's already shown promise in countries like South Africa and Argentina2).
Although voluntary adoption of the Health Star system has existed since 2014, uptake - particularly among less healthy products - has been low. And while poor diets are a major driver of heart disease, many Australians, especially those experiencing disadvantage, still struggle to meet healthy eating guidelines,3 particularly as highly processed foods remain more affordable, widely available and heavily marketed.
The study builds on extensive collaboration with government and public health groups and will inform the development of stronger legal measures to create a food environment that enables, rather than hinders, healthier choices.
Dr Angela Xun-Nan Chen is investigating if diabetes meds can stop heart failure before it starts
Supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship, this international pilot study will examine whether a type of SGLT2 inhibitor - a class diabetes drugs already proven to reduce hospitalisation and death in heart failure (HF) - can help stop heart failure developing in high-risk individuals.
In Australia, heart failure affects 480,000 people, with only about half surviving more than five years after diagnosis.7
The international study will enrol over 400 participants spanning across six countries, to assess the safety, adherence, and feasibility of this drug to prevent HF. If successful, the findings could pave the way for larger trials and new strategies to prevent this costly and debilitating chronic disease.
Doctoral researcher Shaun Khanna is uncovering how heart fat can predict heart failure recovery
Supported by a Postgraduate Scholarship, this study dives into the role of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) - a type of fat surrounding the heart that can release inflammatory substances affecting heart function - in people with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), which occurs in just under half of people with HF.8
Despite its potential impact, experts still debate whether having more or less EAT is harmful, and little is known about how this fat changes over time or responds to treatment.
Using advanced cardiac CT scans, researchers will compare heart fat levels across different groups and follow HF patients for 12 months to see if changes in EAT predict recovery or treatment response. The results could lead to more personalised treatment and change how heart failure is monitored and managed in everyday clinical practice.
Associate Professor Cheryl Carcel and her team are tackling delayed stroke diagnosis with a 15-minute blood test
Supported by a Vanguard Grant, this study will look at how a simple blood test could allow paramedics to rapidly detect bleeding stroke (intracerebral haemorrhage, or ICH) in the field. ICH makes up 15% of strokes in Australia,4 and accounts for disproportionately high rates of death and long-term disability.5 Because its symptoms closely resemble the more common ischaemic stroke,6 it can be difficult to diagnose without a brain scan - usually only available in hospital.
The portable test detects GFAP, a protein that appears in the blood soon after a brain bleed. Requiring only a drop of blood and delivering results in under 15 minutes.
The test could enable faster, more targeted intervention before a patient even arrives at hospital, potentially reducing the risk of death and long-term disability for ICH patients.
References
1. Heart Research Institute. Heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular disease in Australia: Statistics and facts [Internet]. Heart Research Institute. 2024. Available from: https://www.hri.org.au/health/learn/cardiovascular-disease/heart-attack-stroke-and-cardiovascular-disease-in-australia-statistics-and-facts
2. Santos JA, Tekle D, Rosewarne E, Flexner N, Cobb L, Al-Jawaldeh A, et al. A Systematic Review of Salt Reduction Initiatives Around the World: A Midterm Evaluation of Progress Towards the 2025 Global Non-Communicable Diseases Salt Reduction Target. Adv Nutr. 2021;12(5):1768-80.
3. Afshin A, Sur PJ, Fay KA, Cornaby L, Ferrara G, Salama JS, et al. Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. 2019.
4. Lee TH. Intracerebral Hemorrhage. Cerebrovascular diseases extra [Internet]. 2025;15(1):1-8. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39557033/
5. Mayer SA. Ultra-Early Hemostatic Therapy for Intracerebral Hemorrhage. Stroke. 2003 Jan;34(1):224-9.
6. Brain Foundation. Stroke - Brain Disorders A-Z - Brain Foundation Australia [Internet]. Brain Foundation. Available from: https://brainfoundation.org.au/disorders/stroke
7. NPS Medicinewise. Heart failure: taking an active role [Internet]. NPS MedicineWise. Available from: https://www.nps.org.au/professionals/heart-failure-taking-an-active-role
8. NPS Medicinewise. Up-titrating heart failure medicines: A practical guide [Internet]. NPS MedicineWise. Available from: https://www.nps.org.au/news/up-titrating-heart-failure-medicines
