28 October 2026
Pioneering research to accelerate the development of long-lasting mRNA therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of heart disease and the early detection of heart failure in cancer survivors will be supported by more than $1.57m in Heart Foundation funding.
Professor Xiaowei Wang and Dr Mark Vidallon have each received a Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship and a prestigious Innovation Award, recognising the significance and potential impact of their heart research.
mRNA therapeutics have revolutionised vaccine development and opened new frontiers in treating infectious diseases, cancer, and rare genetic conditions. Yet, cardiometabolic diseases remain largely untapped by this transformative technology, despite heart disease being the leading cause of death globally.
That’s why Professor Wang helped establish the groundbreaking Centre for Cardiometabolic mRNA Therapy at the Baker Institute in 2024 to address this gap, with Dr Vidallon a key member of the Centre’s research team.
Now critical fellowship funding from the Heart Foundation will allow the Baker Institute researchers, who are also affiliated with the Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health at the University of Melbourne, to accelerate their work to transform how we detect, treat and prevent heart disease.
This work will involve developing a nanobiotechnology platform, as well as harnessing innovative molecular imaging, targeted nanocarriers and long-lasting mRNA therapies to prevent and treat heart disease in an entirely different way before structural heart damage even appears.
Other funding will support work by Dr Jonathan Sen to establish an Australian intelligence network for echocardiography to support the use of heart imaging to detect and treat heart valve disease. It will also assist work by Dr Cheng Soh to more quickly identify and assess heart failure (HF) in cancer survivors who we know face a significantly high risk of developing HF due to cardiotoxicity.
The Heart Foundation today announced a $14.5 million funding investment for 67 heart research projects across Australia, supporting discoveries that could transform how heart disease is prevented, detected and treated.
“Using mRNA to prevent and treat heart disease in an entirely new way is rare and exciting work, and it’s fantastic to see the Heart Foundation back it. Our research to identify cancer survivors at risk of heart disease earlier is equally important, and this recognition is a real boost for our teams,” says Baker Institute Director, Professor John Greenwood.
“We’re very grateful to the Heart Foundation for this funding, which could help transform the lives of millions of people around the world affected by heart disease.”
See the full list of the 67 projects on the Heart Foundation website.
