MBBS, Ph.D., FRACP, FACC, FESC, FAHA, FCSANZ, FAHMS Director of Victorian Heart Hospital, MonashHeart & ICU, Monash Health Director of Victorian Heart Institute, Monash University Professor of Cardiology, Monash University Professor Steve Nicholls is the inaugural Director of the Victorian Heart Institute and a Professor of Cardiology at Monash University. He is the inaugural Director of the Victorian Heart Hospital which opened in February 2023. Steve is a preventive cardiologist. His clinical interest is focused on identifying those at risk of heart disease earlier, and more effectively, and preventing catastrophic cardiovascular events from occurring. He is committed to solutions which improve equity across risk and management, focusing on women’s heart health and other under-served populations. His work spans the translational spectrum from the lab bench to the bedside, with a focus on understanding the factors that promote plaque formation, novel vascular imaging and leadership of large-scale clinical trials of new therapies designed to reduce the risk of heart disease. He is Chair of the Asia Pacific Cardiometabolic Consortium, President of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Michelle Xing is a final year medical student who completed a BMedSc(Hons) research project in 2023. She conducted a randomised cross-over clinical trial in healthy young adults, in which participants were given an 800mg dose of acetic acid capsules or placebo in a randomised order. The primary end point was change in blood pressure, and she found that systolic blood pressure fell by 4 mmHg 15 minutes following acetate ingestion. She will graduate from the Monash MD degree in Nov 2024.

Dr Hari Sritharan is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney and a Cardiology Trainee at Royal North Shore Hospital. His research interests include the development and use of advanced predictive analytics in cardiovascular disease.

Tomasz is a Year 3 Advanced Trainee in Endocrinology at Alfred Health and a PhD candidate funded by a NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship at the Department of Diabetes at Monash University, Melbourne.

Dr Stav Papapostolou is a cardiologist and PhD candidate. She completed the majority of her advanced training in cardiology at Alfred Health, before undertaking a non-invasive cardiac imaging fellowship at Monash Health. She is completing her PhD which focuses on novel uses of cardiac MRI, through Alfred Health.

Professor Clara Chow is Academic Director of the Westmead Applied Research Centre (WARC), Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. She is a cardiologist and Clinical Lead of Community Based Cardiac Services at Westmead hospital and is also a member of the Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) Governing Board, Sydney, Australia. Professor Chow is Director of the Australian Stroke and Heart Accelerator (ASHRA). Her recent award highlights include being a finalist for the NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year - Woman of Excellence Category - in 2024 and 2020 respectively, receiving a Research Australia Digital Health Technology – Highly Commended Award, becoming an Honour of Australia recipient as well as a Fellow of the AAHMS in 2023 and being honoured with a Telstra Health - Brilliant Woman in Digital Health Award in 2022. She holds an honorary appointment as the Charles Perkins Centre Westmead Academic Co-director and is past-President of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Professor Chow’s research focuses on the prevention of cardiovascular disease, innovation in the delivery of cardiovascular care and the evaluation of digital health interventions. She has expertise in the design, delivery and implementation of clinical trials. Her PhD from the University of Sydney, Australia was in cardiovascular epidemiology and international public Health and her Postdoc from McMaster University, Canada in clinical trials and cardiac imaging. She has over 250 publications including papers in internationally leading medical journals NEJM, JAMA and Lancet. She is supported by a NHMRC Investigator grant.

Dr. Devereaux is a cardiologist, perioperative care physician, and clinical epidemiologist. He is the Director of the Division of Perioperative Care at McMaster University. He is a Senior Scientist and the Scientific Leader of the Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine, and Surgical Research Group at the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI). Dr. Devereaux is a full Professor at McMaster University. He is the President of the Society of Perioperative Research and Care. Dr. Devereaux is the nominated Principal Applicant of the Pan-Canadian Accelerated Clinical Trials (ACT) Consortium, and he is the CEO and Scientific Director of the World Health Research Trust. Dr. Devereaux has published >440 peer-reviewed papers and >85 book chapters, editorials, and commentaries. Dr. Devereaux has an h-index of 115. He has received >$345 Million in research grant funding. He has given >1000 lectures and research presentations in 41 countries. Dr. Devereaux’s research program focuses on major vascular complications during and after surgery. He has led many large international randomized trials and prospective cohort studies focused on major perioperative vascular complications. Dr. Devereaux is supported by the McMaster University / Hamilton Health Sciences Chair in Perioperative Care. He also holds a Tier 1 Canadian Research Chair in Perioperative Medicine.