Agilent PhD Scholarship - [Archived Advertisement]

About us

How often do you look at the world with a new perspective? At the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute we do it every day. It's in our DNA, our culture, our attitude and our approach.

For over 20 years, through the power of discovery, we have been able to imagine the unimaginable, revolutionising the understanding of heart disease –still the leading cause of death and disability in our society.

From the legacy of legendary heart transplant surgeon Victor Chang, the Institute's team have rapidly pioneered research with a shared and life changing vision – to reduce the incidence, severity and impact of heart disease.

Our values

• To achieve excellence in research
• To demonstrate creativity in the pursuit of scientific discovery
• To act with honesty, integrity and fairness at all times
• To undertake research that has significant impact and makes a difference
• To promote a sense of teamwork and collegiality amongst staff and collaborators

At the Victor Chang Institute we strive to ensure our staff and students enjoy a great working environment. We value and are committed to providing a working environment that embraces diversity and gender equity and promotes flexible working arrangements for staff to balance working requirements and personal needs.

Come and work with us and help us make a difference.

Background & Project Details

Myocardial infarction (or ‘heart attack’) and angina are forms of ischemic heart disease (IHD) that result from the obstruction of blood flow to heart muscle. IHD is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Australia. The underlying cause of IHD is atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial wall characterised by the formation of cholesterol-rich plaque. Rupture of atherosclerotic plaque is the predominant cause of MI.

It has been difficult to study the underlying causes of plaque rupture until the recent advent of a mouse model of unstable plaque. Using this model, we have shown that genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition of the inflammatory enzyme myeloperoxidase stabilises plaque.

This project will investigate how myeloperoxidase stabilises unstable plaque in the mouse model and whether this is achieved via a pathway shared with or different to how statins stabilise plaque. Emphasis will be placed on metabolic changes in the arterial wall and blood plasma associated with plaque stabilization by inhibition of myeloperoxidase ± statin treatment. Where possible, specific changes observed in the mouse model will be verified using atherosclerotic plaque and blood plasma materials from humans.

The project will be supervised by Prof Roland Stocker (Laboratory Head) and A/Prof Mark Hodson (Head, Metabolomics Research Laboratory).

Eligibility

• A B.Sc. (Honours, Class I or II) in a biochemistry related discipline or equivalent is essential.
• Only full-time APA (or equivalent) University Scholarship holders, or applicants with a track record competitive for an APA (or equivalent) Scholarship, are eligible to apply.
• This project requires solid background knowledge in analytical chemistry or biochemistry, ideally with experience in mass spectrometry.

This PhD Scholarship is supported by Agilent Technologies to advance metabolomics-based research at the Victor Chang Cardiovascular Research Institute.