A heartfelt desire to advance stem cell science

Associate Professor James Chong and Dr Sujitha Thavapalachandran

Associate Professor James Chong from Westmead Institute and the University of Sydney is a practising cardiologist at Westmead Hospital and lab head at the University of Sydney. His clinical interests focus on coronary intervention whilst his research focuses on the potential use of stem cells to regenerate damaged heart muscle tissue.

Dr Sujitha Thavapalachandran, a PhD student in the Chong lab, is exploring whether platelet derived growth factor – a protein that regulates cell growth – might be a potential therapy for patients following a heart attack through improving heart function after attack and reduce arrhythmias.

Read more about their research in A heartfelt desire to advance stem cell science.

Listen to James and Sujitha share an insight into their research, their hope for future therapies for their patients and the power of stem cells as a model of disease.


Want to learn more?

Meet Australian scientists who are using stem cells to advance our understanding of how the body develops, what happens during disease, as well as exploring new ways to treat currently incurable conditions:

Stem Cells Australia: 
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Meet 23 Australian research labs in our full suite of videos