Dr Jarmon G Lees

My research focuses on developing a stem cell-derived model of the human heart to aid in the development of new treatments for Friedreich ataxia and type 2 diabetic heart disease.

I am a Shirley Keon Hummingbirds Fellow (O’Brien Foundation), Senior Research Officer and Rising Star at St Vincent’s Institute, and an Honorary Fellow at The University of Melbourne. Since 2020, I have co-convened the Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research (ASSCR) monthly national webinar series which hosts national and international stem cell researchers.

The human heart is composed of many different cell types all working together to perform the vital function of pumping blood and nutrients around the body. In addition to the beating cardiomyocytes, there are vascular cells (endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and pericytes) which supply the heart tissue with blood, autonomic neurons (sympathetic and parasympathetic) which control heart rhythm, fibroblasts which provide structure, and immune cells which respond to injury and infection. We generate many of these cell types from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and then bioengineer living, beating models of the human heart in a dish for disease modelling and drug testing.

Using stem cells created from patient tissue samples in the laboratory, we study rare diseases that affect the heart. This includes Friedreich ataxia, a rare neurodegenerative disease with an associated cardiomyopathy. We’re building understanding of how Friedreich ataxia affects the heart to cause heart disease, with the aim of finding new targets to reverse these debilitating disease effects.

Key achievements

2022   Shirley Keon Hummingbirds Fellowship; Harold Mitchell Foundation travel award; International Congress for Ataxia Research patient flash talk prize

2021   Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance Postdoctoral Award; St Vincent’s Institute Rising Star Award; Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery Senior Medical Staff Best Oral Prize; Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery Senior Medical Staff Best Poster Prize

2019   FameLab Victorian Finalist; Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery Senior Medical Staff Best Poster Prize; National Ataxia Foundation Young Investigator Award; CASS Foundation Medical Research Grant; St Vincent’s Hospital Research Endowment Fund Grant; Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research ECR Oral Award

2016   The University of Melbourne Science Abroad Travelling Scholarship; The University of Melbourne FH Drummond Travel Award; The University of Melbourne Alfred Nicholas Fellowship Award

2016   The University of Melbourne 3-Minute Thesis competition – Grand finalist

2015   The University of Melbourne 3-Minute Thesis competition – Grand finalist

2014   The University of Melbourne Jasper Loftus-Hills Award; Australian Post Graduate Award (APA) for PhD study