University of Otago research projects focusing on novel biomarkers, scanning, and tests to detect cardiovascular disease, have been awarded eight grants and scholarships worth $4.2million — much of it going to the university’s Christchurch Heart Institute (CHI) within the campus’ department of medicine.
CHI research fellow Dr Louise Paton received two awards — a project grant and a Heart Foundation research fellowship totalling $500,000.
Dr Paton said the funding would go to her research into the application of mass spectrometry to improve diagnosis and management of heart disease.
Specifically, she was looking at a metabolite formed from lactate, called Lac-Phe.
She said Lac-Phe was an important source of energy for the heart and a powerful predictor of heart failure, mortality in breathless patients, respiratory risk infection and bleeding.
The aim was to use it to develop a tool to more accurately identify patients who would benefit most from intensive therapy and management after heart failure.
Fellow CHI researcher Dr Charlotte Greer was also awarded a $337,000 Heart Foundation senior fellowship to explore a revolutionary imaging technology called photon-counting CT.
She said it could transform how heart disease was diagnosed and treated and the technology was already being rolled out at Christchurch and Kenepuru hospitals, producing ultra-high-resolution images of the heart muscle, arteries and fat tissue that traditional CT scanners often miss.
CHI investigator Dr Sarah Appleby received a Heart Foundation grant to help study the relationship between the gut and the heart, and whether bacteria from the gut could be used to identify heart attack patients who were most at risk of heart failure, before symptoms appear.
It was hoped a new simple blood test or panel of tests could be developed to predict which patients were at high risk and also discover which bacteria could be modified and used as treatment targets, she said.
CHI researcher Assoc Prof Anna Pilbrow and CHI PhD student Sam Gibbs also received project grant funding to help develop an epigenetic biomarker which could identify individuals most at risk of heart disease.
CHI researcher Dr Andree Pearson received further project grant support to expand her marae-based study, Hauora Manawa mō ngā Kaumātua me ngā Whānau, which is investigating the effects of age and ethnicity on heart structure and function in older Māori.
University of Otago PhD student Janny Lau was awarded a $50,000 Heart Foundation postgraduate scholarship, to help investigate whether hidden genetic factors could help identify people at risk of early-onset heart disease, particularly those who appear low-risk under present screening tools but have a strong family history of heart disease and stroke.
The second part of the research aims to understand why Māori and Pasifika typically show lower levels of a key biomarker called NT-proBNP to diagnose heart failure, potentially leading to missed or delayed diagnoses.
University of Otago (Dunedin) pathology researcher Dr Debina Sarkar was given $20,000 to investigate the impact of mutation of a gene called TP53 on lipid dysregulation in atherosclerosis.
Findings from this project will help pinpoint individuals who may be at a higher risk of developing atherosclerosis and severe cardiovascular diseases and could lead to the development of a simple screening tool or test, prioritising individuals at higher risk of heart disease.
— Allied Media
