Jason Kovacic graduated from The University of Melbourne Medical School in 1994, and then undertook residency and cardiology specialty training at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. Jason then completed a PhD at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, focusing on the application of cell therapy to treat patients with refractory ischemic heart disease. In 2007 Dr. Kovacic relocated to the USA, to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. At the NIH, Jason undertook a 2 year postdoctoral fellowship with the then Director of the NHLBI, Dr. Elizabeth Nabel. In 2009 Jason moved to Mount Sinai in New York. As a physician-scientist and investigator at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Jason established a cardiovascular research laboratory with a strong interest in the cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease. He also established a large clinical practice as an interventional and clinical cardiologist. Major career scientific achievements include successful investigator-initiated clinical studies of cardiovascular progenitor cell therapy, molecular characterization of a novel vascular progenitor cell population, unravelling the pathobiology of fibromuscular dysplasia and spontaneous coronary artery dissection, numerous basic and translational studies on the biology and manifestations of atherosclerosis, and pioneering studies regarding the role of endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) in adult vascular biology and disease. In early 2020 Jason was recruited to return Australia, and to take on the role of the Executive Director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. In this role, he leads one of the world’s leading Cardiovascular Research Institutes. Jason has now established his research program at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, where he will continue his focus on cardiac and vascular diseases, including fibromuscular dysplasia and spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Jason currently holds the positions of the Robert M. Graham Professor of Cardiovascular Research at University of New South Wales, and continues his appointment as Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA. Jason has given over 80 US and other international invited presentations, has served on many US NIH committees and panels, and received several awards. In 2018 he received 2 distinct awards – one as a clinician and the other as a scientist - the Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication (for ranking in the top 1% nationally in the USA in provider communication by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CGCAHPS patient experience survey), and the 2018 Dean’s Healthcare System Team Science Award at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr Niamh Chapman is a Senior Research Fellow, Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow and Churchill Fellow that leads the Health Equity and Hypertension Group at the University of Sydney. Dr Chapman is the Co-Chair of the Australian Hypertension Taskforce Patient Engagement Working Group and initiative lead the International Society of Hypertension ‘Guideline for Patients’. Dr Chapman has received >$13.9 million in competitive grant funding, >$6.2 million as CIA, and published >40 research manuscripts. Dr Chapman’s research is focused on improving health service delivery to better meet the needs of patients and priorities to improve the detection and management of hypertension. Dr Chapman has extensive experience in community-led research with >7 years’ experience working directly with lived experience consumer advisors that have been co-authors on publications and CIs on successful grants.

Hericka is an early career researcher at the Centre for Cardiovascular Biology & Disease Research, La Trobe University. She has over 8 years of experience working with preclinical models of cardiovascular disease and her work focuses on understanding how B cells promote hypertension by integrating multiomic computational analyses with traditional research techniques. Hericka’s work with computational analyses have secured >1.7M in funding from the NHMRC, the Australian Centre for AI in Medical Innovation and The CASS Foundation.

Prof Christina Bursill (BSc (Hons 1) PhD, Adelaide University; Postdoc, Oxford University, UK) is a leader in the biology and mechanisms of atherosclerotic plaques and mechanisms of angiogenesis. She co-directs the Vascular Research Centre at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) where she leads a team of 10 researchers. Prof Bursill has held two National Heart Foundation Fellowships and as CIA she has received >$6 million in competitive national research funding in the last 5 years. Prof Bursill has published >120 manuscripts and supervised >18 PhD students to completion. She is currently Chair of the South Australian Cardiovascular Research Network and a Board member of the International Atherosclerosis Society.

Suzanne is completing her thesis examining the optimisation of outcomes for CAD patients beyond the management of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, focussing on the early detection and treatment of subclinical atherosclerotic CAD. She has an academic and clinical background in pre-hospital emergency cardiovascular care, working with the American Heart Association, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation and the Australian Resuscitation Council. She is now happily embracing the opportunity to undertake research to prevent cardiac arrests, instead of treating them.

Dr Corey Giles is Head of the Systems Medicine and Bioinformatics laboratory at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. He leads a program of research focused on understanding the mechanisms through which genetics and metabolism affect cardiovascular disease. By integrating biobank-scale data with advanced bioinformatics, his team is unravelling the molecular architecture underlying heart conditions. This systems-level approach is driving precise early diagnosis, risk assessment, and the development of targeted therapies.

Michael serves as a Clinical Research & Strategic Partnerships Manager at the University of Sydney, providing operational oversight and management of a clinical research program focused on biomarker discover and implementation.

Dr Arnaud Mazier is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Clinical Imaging at the Imaging and Phenotyping Laboratory, The University of Sydney. His research focuses on AI-assisted analysis of coronary CT angiography within BioHEART, particularly the quantification of non-calcified plaque volume and its relationship with coronary artery calcium scoring. His work aims to translate advanced plaque phenotyping into more precise cardiovascular risk assessment and clinically useful imaging tools.

Professor Grant Drummond is Associate Dean Partnerships in the School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment and Co-Director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Disease Research at La Trobe University. He is also Co-Director of the Drug Discovery and Translation Flagship of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance. A vascular biologist and pharmacologist, he brings more than 30 years of research experience across the University of Melbourne, Emory University, Monash University and La Trobe University. His research focuses on endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, immunity and inflammation in cardiovascular disease, particularly hypertension, atherosclerosis and stroke, with a strong emphasis on translational impact.

Julie Redfern is a Professor of Public Health, a practising Physiotherapist and Director of the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare at Bond University. She has published over 300 manuscripts and 4 book chapters. She has > 15 years of experience delivering multidisciplinary and translational research and is an advocate for effective secondary prevention of CVD. Her research interest is focused on improving practice, reducing risk factors and implementing digital health innovation. Professor Redfern currently holds an NHMRC Investigator Grant (L2) and is currently CIA on NHMRC Synergy Grant (SOLVE-CHD), MRFF and NSW Health grants. She is Chair of the CSANZ Clinical Trials Council and member of the Scientific Committee. She is also a member of the Board of the World Heart Federation and Chairs the ACvA Science Advisory Committee.

Dr Julee McDonagh is an RN, an NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellow, and a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Chronic and Complex Care Research, at the University of Wollongong and Western Sydney LHD. Dr McDonagh’s research program draws upon her clinical expertise in heart failure and coronary care, focusing on the intersection of heart failure, frailty, cardiovascular disease, aging, and multimorbidity. She is the co-lead of the ACvA Frailty and Heart Failure National Taskforce.

Dr Catherine Shang (PhD, GAICD) is Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance, Australia's national peak body for cardiovascular research. She brings over 20 years of experience building national and international research partnerships across cardiovascular health, cancer control, and drug discovery in Australia and the UK, including executive roles at the Victorian Cancer Registry and international collaborations at the University of Oxford. Catherine's career has focused on building national research collaborations and infrastructure from the ground up in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.

Adam Livori is cardiology clinician researcher trained in nuclear medicine and clinical pharmacy. He works as a cardiology pharmacist at Grampians Health. He holds a Master of Clinical Pharmacy in cardiology, and a PhD in biostatistics, pharmacoepidemiology, and health economics at Monash University. He is the current chair for the Cardiology Leadership Committee for Advanced Pharmacy Australia and a member of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance Big Data Flagship.

A/Prof Elizabeth Paratz is a clinician / researcher with subspecialty in cardiac imaging working at St Vincent's Hospital, St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research and Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. Her interests primarily encompass cardiac arrest, big data, global health and cardiac amyloidosis.

Prof Tomasz Guzik's research focuses on understanding how inflammation and oxidation intersect in vascular biology, especially in the context of hypertension. His group most important contributions include understanding the mechanisms of oxidative stress and vascular dysfunction in humans (Circ Res, 2000; Circulation, 2002; JACC; 2008; J Clin Invest, 2022) and, more recently, the defining novel role of inflammation and adaptive immunity in hypertension (J Exp Med, 2007; Circulation, 2020; Circ Res, 2020). His most recent work focused on identifying neuroimmune reflexes controlling atherosclerosis (Nature, 2022). In 2021, he was recognised as a Highly Cited Scientist by Clarivate. He published over 250 original studies with top-cited papers receiving >1000 citations (WoS H factor – 65; with a total of 18900 citations). His group is currently funded primarily by the European Research Council, European Commission and the British Heart Foundation. Prof Guzik is an Editor-in-Chief of Cardiovascular Research, serves as a board member of the European Society of Cardiology, Chairperson of the European Society of Cardiology Research and EU Grants Committee, and Treasurer of the British Atherosclerosis Society.

Alta Schutte is Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at UNSW Sydney, and the Global Co-Director of the Cardiovascular Division of The George Institute for Global Health. She is internationally recognised as a leader in hypertension, having conceived and led major research programs in Australia and globally. She’s contributed over 500 publications to the peer literature, including in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and JAMA. She is a Trustee of the May Measurement Month global blood pressure screening initiative, an invited author of the Lancet Commission of Hypertension, and senior author of the 2020 International Society of Hypertension Global Hypertension Guidelines. She is Associate Editor of the journal, Hypertension, and has received numerous international awards for her work, including the 2022 American Heart Association’s Harriet Dustan Award, and 2023 Peter Sleight Excellence Award in Hypertension Clinical Research from the World Hypertension League. In Australia, she received the NHMRC’s Fiona Stanley Award for the highest ranked $5 million Synergy Grant, and was ranked by The Australian in 2023 and 2024 as the Leading Scientist in Australia in the field of Vascular Medicine. She is the Company Secretary of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance, Co-Chair of the National Hypertension Taskforce of Australia, and Past President of the International Society of Hypertension.