Edwin is a final year medical student from Monash University with a keen interest in cardiology, in particular cardiac imaging and coronary artery disease. He completed his Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) in 2024, under the supervision of Associate Professor Nitesh Nerlekar at the Victorian Heart Institute and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, investigating peri-coronary adipose tissue imaging on CT coronary angiography. He is passionate about continuing his research into CAD amongst the asymptomatic population to improve screening protocols.

Amanda Croft is in the final stages of her PhD program at the Newcastle Cardio-oncology Centre of Excellence, affiliated with Hunter Medical Research Institute and University of Newcastle. Her research interests involve the role of adipose tissue health and oxidative stress in cardiomyopathies related to cardiometabolic disease and cancer.

Benjamin Quick is a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, supervised by Wally Thomas and Melissa Reichelt. His research explores the role of nitric oxide, cavin-1, and neuregulin-1 in heart failure pathogenesis, with a focus on gene editing approaches using viral vectors in mice. He utilises techniques such as Langendorff isolated heart preparations, in vivo pressure-volume analysis, and echocardiography to study cardiac dysfunction. Through his work, he hopes to contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying heart disease and potential therapeutic strategies.

Yuyang Song is a PhD student in the Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health at the University of Melbourne, under the supervision of Prof. Xiaowei Wang. He completed both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Biomedical Science at the University of Melbourne. Yuyang’s research focuses on the development of novel drug constructs and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, with a strong interest in overcoming the limitations and side effects associated with current therapies. His work takes a multidisciplinary approach, including the engineering of recombinant antibody-drug fusions for targeted therapy, the use of extracellular vesicles as drug nanocarriers, and the development of next-generation mRNA technologies for personalised medicine. Through these approaches, Yuyang aims to create safer and more effective treatments that improve outcomes and quality of life for patients with cardiovascular disease.

Professor Livia Hool is the Wesfarmers, UWA-VCCRI Chair in Cardiovascular Research and Director, Ben Beale Laboratory in Cardiovascular Research at The University of Western Australia. She is currently President of the Australian Physiological Society. She serves on several international committees including the American Heart Association BCVS Leadership Committee and BCVS Katz Award Committee. She is currently Treasurer of International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) World Council (2022-25; re-elected 2025-28) and past President ISHR Australasian section (2013-16; re-elected 2016-19). Her research focuses on the role of the L-type calcium channel in the excitability of the heart and in the regulation of energetics, with an emphasis on designing therapy to prevent the development of cardiomyopathy and heart failure.

Yutang Wang is a Senior Lecturer in biomedical science at Federation University Australia. He is named in the 2023 and 2024 Stanford’s list of World’s Top 2% Scientists. He has a broad research interest in investigating the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases including atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, aortic aneurysm, stroke and myocardial infarction.