Seed funding recipients: 2023

The Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health is pleased to announce its first round of seed funding for 2023. The competitive scheme received projects from several research groups involving staff from the Baker Institute and other Departments throughout the University, collaborating in the Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health.

Projects awarded funding:

• Multiomic investigation of mechanotransduction in calcific aortic valve disease  

Principal Investigator: Sara Baratchi (Baker/RMIT/UoM). Investigators: Nicholas Williamson, Ching-Seng Ang, Agus Salim, Karlheinz Peter, Jonathan Noonan, Nalin Dayawansa, Habiba Danish. Awarded $200,000.

• Calculating internal clock time from blood transcriptomic data – evaluation of a universal biomarker for cardiovascular and metabolic disease

Principal Investigators: Morag Young, Kegan Moneghetti (Baker/UoM). Investigators: Sarah Gutman, David Prior, Jonathan Shaw, Peter Meikle, Tom Marwick. Awarded $100,000.

• Comprehensive evaluation of plasma markers of PI3K activity in healthy and diseased hearts to identify future treatment strategies

Principal Investigator: William Chan (UoM/Monash/Western Health). Investigators: Kawa Haji, Julie McMullen. Awarded $100,000.

Grant recipients will give presentations on their projects and progress throughout 2023 and 2024 as part of our Seed Funding Seminar series. For more information on these seminars and the seed grant scheme, contact us at baker-dept@unimelb.edu.au