Australia's most innovative cardiovascular and stroke researchers were celebrated last night at the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) Excellence in Cardiovascular Research Awards, recognising outstanding leadership, collaboration and innovation across the sector.
The annual awards highlight the vital role Australian research plays in addressing cardiovascular disease (CVD), which remains the leading cause of death globally and accounts for one in every five deaths nationwide.
The Awards shine a spotlight on the breadth, impact and diversity of cardiovascular and stroke research across Australia, from discovery science through to translation and clinical impact.
The 2025 Game Changer Award, which recognises transformative breakthroughs by emerging and established researchers, was presented to Professor Daniel Beard from the University of Newcastle for pioneering work in stroke treatment.
Stroke is one of Australia's biggest killers. It kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer. Professor Beard and his team have developed smart nanoparticles capable of increasing blood flow to vulnerable brain tissue during a stroke. Designed for delivery by paramedics or in hospitals, this is the first therapy to selectively unlock the brain's hidden plumbing, transforming stroke care from a desperate sprint into a strategy that saves lives and extends treatment windows worldwide.
The 2025 ACvA Translation Award was presented to Professor Clara Chow and the Westmead Applied Research Centre (WARC) Digital Health Team, recognising how research-driven innovation can transform healthcare delivery at scale.
Professor Chow and her Team have turned a decade of research into reality. Digital tools now support over 10,000 cardiovascular patients in Western Sydney. Through text messages, apps, wearables, and AI, patients receive personalised post-discharge support that reduce readmissions by 10-20%. The translational journey from co-design to clinical trials to health system integration shows the real-world impact of research, with potential for system-wide adoption across Australia.
The Mentor Award, which acknowledges researchers who have made an exceptional contribution to nurturing the next generation of scientific leaders, was jointly presented to Professor Dominique Cadilhac and Professor John Fraser.
Professor Cadilhac of Monash University has spent more than three decades building capacity in stroke research through inclusive, career-shaping mentorship. Her commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, work-life balance and researcher independence has helped cultivate a generation of clinician-researchers and data scientists who are now leaders in Australia's cardiovascular research landscape.
Professor Fraser, from the Critical Care Research Group at the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, has directly mentored more than 110 researchers from Australia and overseas, including Kenya, Estonia and the Middle East. He is known for actively prioritising early-career researchers through first authorship opportunities, scholarship advocacy and hands-on career support. His approach has produced a global network of clinician-scientists now leading research programs in hospitals and universities worldwide.
Award recipients were selected from a shortlist of nine finalists from across Australia, reflecting the depth and diversity of cardiovascular and stroke research nationwide. Finalist projects spanned areas including medication adherence, a hypertension polypill, gut microbes which can reduce blood pressure, and advances in precision medicine.
You can read about all of the 2025 Finalists here.
About us:
Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA)
The ACvA is the only national peak leadership body for heart, stroke, and vascular disease research. It serves as an independent coordinating organisation for the sector and is a comprehensive collaboration of the country's leading cardiovascular research bodies, scientific societies, individual researchers, industry partners, and non-government organisations.
