The Heart Research Institute (HRI) welcomes Dr Mathew Vadas AO as newly appointed Director of Science Strategy.
Dr Vadas has led a distinguished career in the scientific, organisational and commercial sectors, as an internationally renowned immunologist and research leader. He is one of Australia’s most highly cited scientists, with >28 000 citations (H index = 88), and is an Inaugural ISI Award Citation Laureate – one of 33 most cited Australian researchers in all disciplines. In 2012, he was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia “for distinguished service to medical and biotechnological research, particularly in the area of human immunology, to higher education, and through contributions to professional organisations”.
“Medical research has enriched and lengthened our lives. Nowhere is this more evident than in cardiovascular disease.
“It is an enormous privilege to work with the talented team at HRI to continue finding breakthroughs that will benefit our patients,” says Dr Vadas.
In welcoming Dr Vadas, Scientific Director and CEO at HRI Prof Andrew Coats says, “Mathew will be an invaluable asset to HRI, bringing his extensive experience and knowledge in medical research to help guide our science strategy, mentor our researchers in developing their careers, and develop and oversee research projects to drive forward our impact in fighting cardiovascular disease.”
After training as a physician, Dr Vadas began his research career with a PhD at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, then conducted postdoctoral work at Harvard. He has established major research enterprises in Australia, and his work has made significant contributions to medical science. These include seminal papers on the role of activation of granulocytes and endothelial cells in inflammation, and most recently on drugs that repair faulty blood vessels and reverse the vascular leak that underlies many inflammatory diseases.
Dr Vadas was most recently Executive Director and Joint Head of the Vascular Biology Program at the Centenary Institute in Sydney, and was previously Inaugural Director of the Hanson Centre for Cancer Research (now Hanson Institute) in Adelaide. He has extensive commercialisation experience and was involved in establishing two ASX-listed biotechnology companies; he now consults to the Australian biotechnology sector. Dr Vadas is an inaugural Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and a life member of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.