Joint and (HRI) Cardiovascular Seminar Tuesday Seminar Series

Tuesday 5th November 2019, 12.00pm - 1.00pm, followed by a networking lunch Level 6 Lecture Theatre, Centenary Intitute

‘Human cardiac organoids for the discovery of new therapeutics’

Associate Professor James Hudson Group Leader, Organiod Research QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

Bio: Abstract: Dr James Hudson is the Group Leader for the Organoid Cardiac disease is currently the leading cause Research Lab at QIMR Berghofer. He completed a of death worldwide, and there are currently more double major in Chemical and Biological Engineering than 22 million people living with heart failure. Our and subsequently completed his PhD on cardiac tissue current research programs include understanding engineering at The University of in 2011. the mechanisms of cardiac biology and function He was then awarded a German Cardiology Society so that we can come up with novel treatments for postdoctoral fellowship with Prof Wolfram-Hubertus these patients. We are studying the core processes Zimmermann in Germany. In 2013 Dr Hudson returned to that improve heart function including maturation, on a NHMRC ECF and is currently an NHMRC interactions between different cell populations CDF and National Heart Foundation Future Leaders in the heart or outside of the heart and the role Fellow. Over his career Dr Hudson’s work has focused of metabolism. Our goal is both the culture of on the use of stem cell-derived heart cells for tissue advanced adult-like muscle in a dish as a model for engineering applications and is now working together with human cardiac biology and uncovering the many academic and industry partners discover new therapeutic unknown factors governing heart health. Using our targets for heart disease. For this work he has won a platforms in house, in collaboration with research number of prestigious awards including the Paul Korner partners, and together in industry partnerships we award and QLD Cardiovascular Researcher of the year have now uncovered novel therapeutic targets and also the Centenary Institute Innovation Award. which we are now aiming to translate.

Seminar Convenors: Dr Richard Bagnall (CI), Dr Melissa Farnham (HRI)