Snow Medical funding to ACvA

Supporting the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance to increase national collaboration that advances heart, stroke and vascular disease research and translation.

Snow Medical invested in the early stages of the ACvA setup, executive leadership and operations, recognising the importance and potential of the ACvA in:

Establishing and leading a nationally coordinated approach to cardiovascular and associated disease research and translation in Australia;
Bringing Australia’s significant and internationally recognised research strengths to address the growing burden of cardiovascular disease and comorbidities across our society, and specifically those with least access to evidence-based healthcare;
Advocating for key funding initiatives including the $220 million MRFF-funded cardiovascular health mission;
Providing collaboration and leadership development potential for young and emerging research leaders across 6 ACvA flagships.
Developing strong relationships with industry and opportunities to accelerate translation and commercialisation and attract investment in new innovations and treatments for cardiovascular diseases.

Professor Gemma A Figtree – President ACvA MB BS, DPhil (Oxon), FRACP, FCSANZ, FAHA

We believe that the national commitment of the ACvA membership to harnessing the excellence of the cardiovascular sector and the preparedness of our members to work collaboratively to deliver a thriving, sustainable and world class CVD ecosystem will drive both health and economic outcomes in Australia.

Kerry Doyle PSM, OAM – Executive Director

Kerry stepped across from the Heart Foundation where she has been the Chief Executive Officer at the NSW Division, and played a huge role in strategy development. She also has immense experience in working with state and federal government- from both internally and in advocacy, having previously been the Executive Director of NSW Government’s Industry, Innovation & Investment Division. Kerry has interests that span from fundamental discovery and innovation through to public health.

ACvA commitment to cardiovascular research

The ACvA’s structure, strategy and commitment to building capacity in our sector means that our very best research leaders and teams are now strategically placed to work as closely as possible with the health system and industry towards prioritised health problems, providing greater value for money from government investments and greater impact for the Australian community and economy.

Six strategic Flagships have been established in the ACvA to help drive impact. These are the Implementation and Policy, Big Data, Clinical Trials, Drug Discovery, Bioengineering and Precision Medicine Flagships. These Flagships cut across the major clinical challenges where critical need is matched by scientific expertise, such as atherosclerosis, heart muscle disease, arrhythmia and stroke.

The Flagship structure brings together the entire cardiovascular research community and promotes a whole-ofnation approach along a bi-directional translational pipeline to ensure that Australian CVD researchers are aligned to the most urgent clinical challenges and that discoveries and innovative approaches to care are translated to the bedside in an accelerated manner.

Drug Discovery Flagship

To create and support a nationwide sustainable ecosystem of drug discovery and translation in Australia that results in a pipeline of therapies to treat cardiac disease, vascular disease and stroke.
Read more on the Drug Discovery Flagship here.

CO-DIRECTORS

Professor Rebecca Richie – Monash University Read more.

Professor Grant Drummond – La Trobe University Read more.

Bioengineering Flagship

To improve and advance the understanding of the mechanisms of cardiovascular disease to deliver practical solutions through the development of new technologies and devices leading to health improvement for individuals, communities and populations.
Read more on the Bioengineering Flagship here.

DIRECTOR

Professor Peter Barlis – University of Melbourne Read more.

Precision Medicine Flagship

To identify the best evidence-based prevention and treatment regimes and programs for implementation and access for all Australians.
Read more on the Precision Medicine Flagship here.

Co-Directors

Professor Alicia Jenkins – University of Sydney Read more.

Professor Peter Meikle – Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute Read more.

Big Data Flagship

To build a coordinated national cardiovascular ‘big data’ platform to drive improvements in health and identify gaps and health inequities in cardiovascular health.
Read more on the Big Data Flagship here.

CO-DIRECTORS

Dominique Cadilhac – Monash University Read more.

Louisa Jorm – University of NSW Read more.

Clinical Trial Flagship

To influence the transformational change needed for successful cardiovascular clinical trials to flourish in Australia.
Read more about the Clinical Trial Flagship here.

CO-DIRECTORS

Chris Reid – Monash University Read more.

Vincent Thijs – Florey Institute Read more.

Implementation and Policy Flagship

To deliver the best cardiovascular care for all Australians, from prevention and primary care through to surgical interventions and to reduce overall healthcare costs to patients and the healthcare system.
Read more on the Implementation and Policy Flagship here.

CO-DIRECTORS

Julie Redfern – Charles Perkins Centre Read more.

Garry Jennings – Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute/Heart Foundation Read more.

Emerging Leaders Committee

Our Emerging Leaders Committee (ELC) was established to provide Early- and Mid-Career Researchers (EMCRs) with greater experience and opportunity in the cardiovascular sector.

They advise and recommend priorities for support, engagement and development of ACvA’s EMCRs through a variety of targeted capacity building programs.

Chair: Anna Calkin – Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute Read more

Co-Chair: Niamh Chapman – Menzies Institute for Medical Research Read more