Baird News

The Baird Institute recently provided me with a generous Travel Grant to attend Tromsø Aorta 2024, a biennial international meeting of aortic physicians and surgeons, scientists, and geneticists with a shared passion for improving the lives of patients and families affected by conditions of the aorta. This three-day conference was a joint meeting from the IRAD (International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection) and the GenTAC Alliance (Genetically Triggered Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Cardiovascular Conditions).

Delegates from across the globe travelled to the Arctic Circle and convened in Tromsø Norway. During the IRAD Program, we heard about novel CT and MRI imaging techniques, evidence-based models of care for patients with acute aortic dissection, and surgical and endovascular approaches to aortic dissection management. Three important prospective clinical trials currently running in Scandinavia, the UK and the USA, studying the early use of endovascular treatment of uncomplicated type B aortic dissection were also presented.

In the GenTAC Program a large focus was on the research into and growing understanding of the genetic landscape of aortic disease, the importance of genetic testing and its vital role in the provision of personalised care. Important aspects of clinical practice were also covered, including exercise after aortic dissection and pregnancy in women with aortic disease. Burgeoning technologies were explored such as the emerging role of AI in risk prediction for aortic dissection, and facial recognition technologies to assist physician assessment of patients with undiagnosed aortic clinical syndromes.

The meeting also provided me the unique opportunity to create connections with like-minded health providers, with whom new international collaborations have already begun. It was also a great pleasure to catch up with my teacher, mentor and friend Professor Alan Braverman (pictured), who trained me in aortic disease during a Fellowship at Washington University, and colleagues from other leading aortic institutions in the USA, including internationally renowned aortic geneticist Dr Dianna Milewicz (also pictured).

I’m grateful to The Baird Institute for their generous support and am excited to continue my work here in Sydney and across Australia in improving the health care and lives of patients and families affected by aortic conditions.

Our thoughts are with the families of the following generous supporters of The Baird Institute who have passed away in the last 6 months.  Wishing you all strength and peace at this difficult time.

• John Nizzari
• Dick Shaw
• Dennis Charles

Heart failure is a condition where the heart doesn’t pump blood well or does so at the expense of elevated filling pressures.

The major need in heart failure today is for a form of heart failure where the heart becomes stiffer with age, accelerated by being overweight, obese, having high blood pressure, and being pre-diabetic or diabetic. This “stiff” form of heart failure is now the most common form of heart failure in the world. Shockingly, there are almost no therapies for this type of heart failure.

To meet this unmet need, Professor Paul Bannon has designed an innovative research project where a piece of tissue is taken from the heart of these patients at the time of cardiac surgery. Professor John O’Sullivan recently discovered that replenishing a molecule called NAD can completely reverse this type of heart failure in model systems. Now, Professors Bannon and O Sullivan along with Professor Sean Lal, are undertaking the world’s first clinical trial, called CardioNAD, of NAD repletion in this type of heart failure.

In a world-first, some heart tissue is taken from patients who are on the NAD medication to demonstrate how feasible replenishing NAD is using the precursor molecule.

This is an enormous undertaking, addressing a major unmet need.

We have recently published some initial work examining the molecular changes in the tissue of these patients using the same NAD precursors, illustrated below. Now, we will undertake CardioNAD to demonstrate how this approach will work using an oral NAD precursor in heart failure patients.

In this latest update, we are excited to spotlight Lisa Turner and Lorna Beattie. Lisa and Lorna have collectively been managing the Cardiothoracic and Vascular surgery clinical trials for almost 20 years. They both have a nursing background in Cardiothoracic and Vascular surgery including intensive care and post operative management. In the early years they did not expect research to be their area of interest however, with time, they have become incredible advocates for research and thoroughly enjoy their work.

The Cardiothoracic and Vascular surgery departments participate in a combination of local, national and international clinical trials, including device and drug trials, databases and tissue biobanks which cover a range of surgical techniques.

They also participate in providing data to national governing bodies, for example ANZSCTS (Australia and New Zealand Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons). They perform regular audits to ensure adherence to predetermined unit KPI’s and to ensure patient outcome deviations are detected and addressed.

Their collaborative efforts extend beyond the unit, fostering close ties with institutions such as The Baird Institute, The University of Sydney, The Charles Perkins Centre, the Heart Research Institute, and numerous others within the Sydney Local Health District and nationally.

Lisa and Lorna state that their jobs “are the glue that pull all of these many facets of research into a well-oiled research unit comprising of two very intricate surgical departments”. They are also well-regarded senior nurses offering support and education to the multidisciplinary teams.

You will find a comprehensive list of the current Cardiothoracic and Vascular clinical trials that Lisa and Lorna manage here on our Clinical Trials information section of the website.

Since I started with the Baird Institute 1.5 years ago, my research accomplishments have grown exponentially. This is only possible through the continuous support of my supervisors and mentors within the Centre for Heart Failure and Diseases of the Aorta – Associate Professor Sean Lal, Professor Paul Bannon and Professor John O’Sullivan. Importantly, all these achievements are only possible with the support of the donors, which help fund our ground-breaking research here at the University of Sydney.

One major project we hope to publish this year, investigates the heart’s natural ability to replace damaged tissue, known as cardiac regeneration. This heart tissue can die following a major event, such as a heart attack (aka myocardial infarction). Our new understanding of how the heart behaves in these circumstances could have major implications for how we treat heart failure.

We have recently begun research into our new degradable artery graft. This artery graft will be used to replace arteries that have been damaged through disease. As arteries are quite flexible, our replacement has been designed to be more elastic than currently available materials, which are too stiff. Additionally, after it has been surgically implanted, the replacement will slowly degrade and will encourage the artery to grow back together. It is through this process that the body will be able to heal itself, replacing damaged arteries, initially with our degradable replacement, followed by a new healthy blood vessel. This new artery graft could revolutionise how we treat artery disease, allowing patients to regrow their own damaged arteries.

I would like to thank all the wonderful supporters of The Baird Institute for helping us undertake such exciting and groundbreaking research.

We are thrilled to extend to our valued supporters a warm invitation to our upcoming event where we will provide you with a comprehensive update on the groundbreaking research being conducted at The Baird Institute. Your unwavering support has been instrumental in propelling our mission forward, and we are eager to share the progress made possible by your generosity.

At this event, you will have the opportunity to gain insights into the cutting-edge projects underway, learn about the latest advancements and witness firsthand the impact of your contributions. Our team of dedicated researchers will be on hand to discuss their work and answer any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you there.

I grew up just outside of Sydney in the Blue Mountains and completed my Bachelor of Science at the University of Sydney, majoring in physiology. My honours year was focused on diabetes, where I spent time investigating the factors involved in the release of insulin. Following my honours year and a subsequent short research scholarship, I worked in a pathology lab for just over a year. Although I enjoyed my time there, I found myself missing science. Fortunately, I had an encounter with Associate Professor Sean Lal, who generously offered me the chance to pursue a master’s degree under his guidance and supervision.

I am in the process of converting from a master’s degree to a PhD and have been extremely fortunate to receive a Baird Institute Scholarship for 2024 and 2025. This amazing opportunity will allow me to conduct important research into the potential key drivers that cause our hearts to age, as well as the relationship between aging and heart failure. Specifically, I will be focusing on a group of factors that might be causing the aged heart to not relax properly, thus impairing its ability to fill with blood. I will also be investigating whether these same factors may promote cardiac regeneration following a heart attack.

Only a few of the thousands of patients we see in cardiac surgery become good friends. Dick Shaw was one of those.

Dick faced three major heart surgeries, with each one carrying a greater and greater risk. But Dick’s optimism and love for life and his family drove us to keep trying.

As his family points out, he worked hard, he played hard, but he loved hard as well.

Dick underwent numerous surgeries primarily because the available replacement valves, meant to address heart valve failure, have limited durability. We have no valve that is perfect and unfortunately the valves failed him twice.  With the third surgery, we didn’t get a chance to see if the newer valves were going to last longer, because unfortunately we couldn’t get him through the procedure.

Dick went into the surgery optimistically, as I did, and I very much value his trust in me and the team on that day. Dick was always keen to support the research of the Baird Institute, and one of the key areas happens to be heart valve design. We must keep working to do this better. We must keep working to do this better for Dick.