30 October 2025
Institute news
We’re delighted to share that the Director of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Professor John Greenwood, and heart rhythm expert, Professor Peter Kistler, have been elected Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS) in recognition of their important contributions to health and medical research in Australia.
As clinician-scientists, both are recognised globally for their expertise in cardiovascular disease research, leadership, advocacy, innovation, and teaching.
Building global partnerships to tackle cardiometabolic disease
For Professor Greenwood, this national honour follows a distinguished career in the United Kingdom, where he was President of the British Cardiovascular Society and Director of the Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility at Leeds Teaching Hospitals until he joined the Baker Institute in Australia in 2024.
Since that time, Professor Greenwood has made significant contributions to advancing the cardiometabolic health of Australians and developing the brightest researchers, including through global collaborations and partnerships.
Under his leadership, the Baker Institute has built on its global partnerships with prestigious institutions like the University of Cambridge to forge important links with other esteemed research organisations in Europe and the United Kingdom, including the Steno Diabetes Centre Copenhagen and the University of Oxford.
This commitment to building global teams and expertise, which includes highly talented researchers in Australia, acknowledges the need for large-scale teams to solve big picture problems when it comes to heart attack, heart failure, diabetes, and obesity and cardiometabolic disease.
A global leader in the diagnosis and treatment of stable and unstable coronary artery disease, particularly through diagnostics involving cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and validation through large-scale clinical trials, Professor Greenwood’s commitment to scientific excellence is clear.
He will lead our Melbourne-based institute to its centenary next year. This milestone will recognise 100 years of pioneering research in heart disease and diabetes that has saved lives and improved the health of Australians, and those around the world. His ambitious five-year strategy now aims to harness our people, expertise, and partnerships to transform the health landscape, as we embark on our next 100 years.
Leading the charge in heart rhythm research
For Professor Kistler, this honour recognises his global leadership role in cardiac arrhythmia research and advancing cardiovascular health in our community.
Professor Kistler is a clinician cardiologist, an electrophysiologist and international leader in the treatment of heart rhythm disorders, including catheter ablation and research. He leads the Heart Rhythm Departments at The Alfred Hospital and the Baker Institute, holding dual professorships at the University of Melbourne and Monash University.
He has made substantial contributions to the field of arrhythmias, supervised many PhD students and is an invited international speaker at the American Heart Association, European Society of Cardiology, Heart Rhythm Society and Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society meetings.
His research has been published in leading scientific journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine and The Journal of the American Medical Association, and has informed international clinical guidelines.
Each year, the AAHMS Fellowship elects the nation’s most outstanding minds in health and medical research, innovation, and leadership, with 29 Fellows recognised this year.
Election to the Academy is one of the highest honours in Australian health and medical sciences. Fellows are elected by their peers for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of knowledge, the translation of research into improved health outcomes, and their commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers and clinicians.
