Targeting the cells that cause heart scarring to enable prevention and treatment of heart failure

Associate Professor Alexander Pinto, La Trobe University

2023 Future Leader Fellowship - Level 3

Years funded: 2024 - 2027

Heart failure is a leading cause of death in Australia and worldwide, and scarring of heart tissue—also known as cardiac fibrosis—is a key contributor to heart failure. Understanding which cardiac cells drive fibrosis, how they behave and how they can be targeted therapeutically will be a game-changer for the prevention and treatment of heart failure. Our recent study of failing human and mouse hearts uncovered new cell types that emerge during fibrosis and drive cardiac scarring. However, how and why these cell types drive scarring and the extent to which we can influence their behaviour by targeting specific genes is unknown.

This project will address these gaps in our knowledge. By applying new and emerging data science technologies—and combining our deep expertise in single-cell genomics with the expertise of world-leading scientists in nanoparticle and computational chemistry—this project will reveal, in unprecedented detail, the cellular processes that drive cardiac fibrosis and how we may target these to prevent or treat heart failure.