New funding helps bring stem cell-derived heart muscle closer to the clinic

Congratulations to WIMR’s Professor James Chong who has been awarded almost $1 million from the Medical Research Future Fund’s Stem Cell Therapies Mission.

Professor Chong, the Co-Director of WIMR’s Centre for Cardiac Research, leads the project to develop heart muscle grafts that have been created from stem cells. 

Heart failure costs Australia more than $1 billion each year, and 50% of people with stage 4 disease will die within a year. This is mainly because damaged heart muscle, following a heart attack for instance, cannot repair itself.  This can significantly reduce heart function.

This project builds on the WIMR team’s previous work, creating and improving new heart muscle using stem cells, with the aim of using these cells as grafts to repair damaged heart muscle.  The project also adds to our understanding of patient requirements so that the grafts can progress to the clinical trial stage.

To read more about Professor Chong’s innovative heart research, visit https://wimr.org.au/researchers/professor-james-chong/