Advancing effective prevention and management to combat the high prevalence of heart...

Advancing effective prevention and management to combat the high prevalence of heart and diabetes complications

Dr Joanna Gong, The University of Melbourne

2023 PhD Scholarships

Years funded: 2024 - 2027

Heart disease causes substantial, preventable death and disability among people living with diabetes. In a study of 11,247 Australians, almost one third of deaths over 5.2 years were attributable to cardiovascular disease and of these, 65% occurred in people with diabetes or prediabetes.

We will harness multinational big data to identify trends, inequities and ways to prevent heart disease among people living with diabetes. On a global scale, we will interrogate large multinational databases to characterise the inequities and mortality trends in heart disease (themes 1 & 2). On an individual level, we will analyse comprehensive biomedical and imaging data to predict who will develop heart disease, therefore identifying possible points for intervention (theme 4).

Dominating the cardiovascular and diabetes space, SGLT2i and GLP-1Ra have attracted international attention. There is poor adherence and misdirected prescribing leading to preventable morbidity and mortality. We will identify ways to optimise prescribing (theme 3).