The heart as a central player in tissue cross-talk

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  Research Project Leader
  Dr Magdalene Montgomery

  magdalene.montgomery@unimelb.edu.au

  View researcher's webpage

  +61 422 059 907

Project Details

In adults with diabetes, the most common causes of death are heart disease and stroke. Adults with diabetes are 2-8-fold more likely to die from heart disease or stroke as people without diabetes, and the prevalence of heart failure in T2D individuals is estimated to be 20%. Interestingly, while the current front-line T2D medications are good at improving insulin sensitivity, they don't impact cardiovascular health. We aim to understand changes in heart-secreted factors (ie. cardiokines) in various states of heart disease, and use this knowledge for a more targeted heart-centric therapeutic approach. In this respect, we identified novel cardiokines that affect cardiac inflammation and are currently investigating how overexpression of knockout of these proteins in the heart affects heart function and glycaemic control.

Research Opportunities

This research project is available to Honours students to join as part of their thesis.
Please contact the Research Group Leader to discuss your options.

Research Publications

View Dr Montgomery's latest PubMed publications listing here