NOVEL THERAPIES & NEXT-GEN MEDICAL DEVICES IN CARDIOVASCULAR & VASCULAR DISEASE MANAGEMENT
With
Professor Shirley Jansen AM
The Lawrence-Brown Chair of Vascular Surgery,
School of Population Health,
Curtin University &
Head of the Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery,
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital &
Director of the Heart and Vascular Research Institute,
Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Western Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Perth, Australia | June 2026
Professor Shirley Jansen AM is a distinguished vascular and endovascular surgeon whose career spans clinical leadership, academic excellence, and pioneering research. She currently holds the Lawrence-Brown Chair of Vascular Surgery at Curtin University’s School of Population Health and serves as Head of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, a role she has held since 2015. In addition, she is the Director of the Heart & Vascular Research Institute at the Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research. Her early career was marked by prestigious fellowships, including a British Heart Foundation Research Fellowship (1996), and multiple international travelling fellowships from leading surgical societies and industry sponsors between 2001 and 2002.
Professor Jansen has over 20 years of experience treating vascular disease and has played a vital role in shaping healthcare policy, and clinical standards. She has been Site PI in over 50 clinical trials in pharma, device, first in man, RCTS and registries, many global and leading to changes in practice. She has over 150 peer-reviewed publications, including chapters in key surgical textbooks. Her research has attracted over $14 million in funding, supporting groundbreaking work in biologic therapeutics, vascular medicine, and international clinical trials.
Professor Jansen is Co-Founder and Director of Atherid Therapeutics Pty Ltd developing a novel first in class therapeutic to remove cholesterol and lipid from the arterial wall in atherosclerosis with inventor A/Prof Juliana Hamzah, Head of Targeted Drug Delivery, Imaging and Therapeutics Lab, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. S Jansen’s other main research interest is in the mechanical impacts on the vessel wall as it relates to arterial disease and intervention, and the development of 3D bioprinted vascular devices with her colleague A/Prof Elena Juan Pardo, an expert in bioengineering at the Perkins.
Source: Supplied
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Brain ageing, dementia and psychiatric disorders
Professor Perminder Sachdev graduated from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, in 1978 and completed his MD in Psychiatry there in 1983. Following time in New Zealand, he relocated to Australia, where he completed psychiatric training and a PhD at UNSW in 1991. His doctoral work examined ethnopsychological concepts in Māori culture. His early research focused on drug-induced movement disorders, including akathisia, tardive dyskinesia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome, while his later work has centred on dementia and pre-dementia syndromes, particularly neuroimaging, biomarkers and risk factors.
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Gut microbiome and gastrointestinal dysfunction in people with autism
Vic Lin is a final-year PhD student in the Gut-Brain Axis Laboratory at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. His research focuses on understanding the gastrointestinal dysfunction commonly experienced by people with autism and exploring the connection between the gut microbiome and gastrointestinal function.
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Gerontological physiotherapy in falls prevention and prehabilitation
Dr Rik Dawson is a gerontological physiotherapist and health leader dedicated to improving healthy ageing through evidence-based physiotherapy, digital health and health system reform. As a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney, and President of the Australian Physiotherapy Association, he combines research and policy to improve access to high quality care for older people.
