Posted 29 October 2024
Discovering new therapies for Friedreich ataxia
Dr Jarmon Lees from the Cardiac Regeneration Lab has been awarded a Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship and the 2024 Paul Korner Award for Innovation for his project ‘Translating new therapies for Friedreich ataxia heart disease’ .
Friedreich ataxia is the most prevalent hereditary ataxia, leading to a progressive loss of coordination. Heart disease is the main cause of death for people with Friedreich ataxia, with a life expectancy averaging only 38 years.
There is currently no cure or treatment for Friedreich ataxia heart disease, highlighting the urgent need for new therapeutic interventions.
“I’m grateful and honoured to receive this support from the Heart Foundation.
“My team is in a unique position to identify new treatments for Friedreich ataxia heart disease, because we have stem cells made from individuals with Friedreich ataxia.
“In the lab, we carefully turn these stem cells into miniature versions of the heart, which allows us to see how the heart of someone with Friedreich ataxia will respond to new drugs,” said Jarmon.
The funded research program will first use a drug repurposing strategy to screen thousands of clinically approved drugs. This approach has the potential to expedite the development of treatments for Friedreich ataxia heart disease, with the aim of delivering a treatment option to the community as quickly as possible.
Jarmon will also be exploring gene editing approaches targeting newly identified genes that his team has implicated in Friedreich ataxia.
Understanding sudden cardiac death
The Heart Foundation has awarded Dr Liz Paratz a Postdoctoral Fellowship and the 2024 Shirley E Freeman Innovation Award for her project ‘A world-leading comprehensive registry to drive new insights into sudden cardiac death’.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) affects 20,000 Australians per year but is under-appreciated as a critical public health issue as 90% of deaths occur pre-hospital and are managed by ambulance and forensic services.
Dr Paratz, a Team Leader in SVI’s Heart, Exercise and Research Trials (HEART) Lab, said she was delighted and grateful.
“Finding ways to reduce the burden of SCA has been described as the ‘philosopher’s stone of modern cardiology.’
“It will provide the world’s first true comprehensive case capture of all cases managed state-wide with complete case adjudication of all cases of SCA.
“This will provide a substantive resource to investigate many and diverse cardiac research questions,” said Liz.
The COmprehensive Database to EXamine Sudden Death (CODEX-SD Registry) is a linkage of twenty years of data from two large data sources, the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry and the National Coronial Information Services. Both these services maintain data on all cases managed for the last twenty years, but not in a digitally compatible format.
Liz’s work focuses on accelerating and furthering the understanding of sudden cardiac arrest. She is also supported through SVI’s growing relationship with the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI).
Combined, the support from the Heart Foundation totals around $720,000.