Professor Morag Young is transforming our understanding of how hormones affect the heart — and how that knowledge can save lives.

As a leading authority on cardiovascular endocrinology, Morag investigates how adrenal steroid hormones like aldosterone and cortisol, and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), contribute to heart disease. Her research explores everything from the heart's internal clock to why disrupted sleep patterns and shift work can damage cardiovascular health — work that has profound implications for millions of Australians.

Morag heads the Cardiovascular Endocrinology laboratory and co-leads the Heart Failure Program at the Baker Institute. She supervises students across Monash, La Trobe, Deakin and the University of Melbourne, having mentored 6 early career researchers, 15 graduate students and over 30 undergraduates — shaping the next generation of cardiovascular scientists.

From laboratory to life

Her discovery research has identified how the MR operates differently across various cell types — from immune cells to heart muscle cells. Most recently, she uncovered a groundbreaking interaction between the MR and our body's circadian clock, revealing why disrupted sleep rhythms can harm heart health. Her team's research, published in Nature Communications, demonstrated that poor sleep and shift work independently raise blood pressure — findings now being extended to understand kidney function.

Morag's molecular discoveries are driving drug development programs and identifying new biomarkers in heart failure patients and people with hormone-related high blood pressure. Novel MR modulator drugs tested by her team show improved safety profiles for people with type 1 diabetes, moving closer to clinical application.

As Co-Chief Investigator on the Primary Aldosterone Centre of Excellence (PACE) — funded by an NHMRC CRE Grant — she leads the Scientific Advisory Group. Her work spans UK Biobank data analysis, patient cohort studies and commercial drug discovery partnerships, ensuring research breakthroughs reach the people who need them most.

With over 130 peer-reviewed papers, invited reviews and book chapters, Morag serves as Deputy Editor for The Journal of Endocrinology and The Journal of Molecular Endocrinology. She sits on editorial boards and committees for leading national and international organisations, including the US Endocrine Society, the Endocrine Society of Australia and the International Society for Heart Research.

Championing equity in science

Morag is passionate about creating a more inclusive research environment. She serves on the AAMRI Gender Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee, co-chairs the Baker Institute's Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and co-leads the Institute's application for a Silver Award in the Athena SWAN Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) program.

In 2020, she became the inaugural recipient of the Alice Baker and Eleanor Shaw Gender Equity Fellowship for senior female researchers (2020–2025). She actively mentors early and mid-career scientists — particularly women — helping them achieve their full potential in STEM careers.

Beyond the laboratory, Morag promotes science to girls and young women across Victoria, and shares heart health research with rural and regional communities — because breakthrough science should reach everyone, everywhere.