Cardiovascular disease

Overview

The Cardiovascular disease program is offered by Monash University .

The collective expertise traverses several domains of CVD research, bringing critical mass to the areas of stroke and hypertension, atherosclerosis, fibrosis and kidney disease. 

Interactions across programs lend a cross-disciplinary approach in alignment with overlap in disease areas.

The research will inform on the basic principles of the cardiovascular system from cell biology through to organ systems such as the role of brain, heart, kidney, lung and vasculature in health and disease. 

Ultimately, we seek to improve the health of our ageing population by reducing the burden of chronic cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, atherosclerosis) and the resulting major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke).

The researchers are working to further our understanding of the cardiovascular system in health and disease with the aim to identify novel therapeutic targets to treat a range of CVDs. Some important questions we seek answers to include:

• Can we identify therapies that treat the causes and not just the symptoms of CVD?

• How does the immune system contribute to chronic CVD?

• How do different organs interact in the progression of CVD?

• Can we refine risk factor assessment to better identify patients at risk of a cardiovascular event?

• What experimental CVD models are needed to support translation?

• How do the risk factors for chronic CVD in the rural poor in low-to-middle income countries differ from those in developed nations?