Coming from a science background in his high school and undergraduate years, the pursuit of knowledge and understanding how and why things happen has always been one of his passions. His love for God and the people around him has directed him into human bioscience and currently, heart failure, where he can pair his passion for knowledge with the joy of serving others. He hopes in his year at the Baker Institute to contribute to the vast body of knowledge that is in medicine. Cardiovascular disease had been the cause of much of his family’s heart ache, like many others, driving in him a deeper desire to pursue cardiovascular research. He notices the impact research like this has made to healthcare in the past and wishes deeply to a part of that.

Under the guidance of Prof David Kaye and A/Prof Bing Wang, his research this year will focus on heart failure, particularly in the cellular aspects of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF); its aetiology and pathophysiology. As time advances, HFpEF prevalence continues to rise, posing a significant healthcare burden, especially given that treatment options are limited. The complex, multi-factorial nature of the disease demands a more comprehensive understanding to aid in therapeutic development and eventually to reduce hospitalisations, mortality and improve quality of life. His work will involve culturing cardiac cells to observe their responses to different drugs and stimuli and elucidate the intracellular pathways involved in certain outcomes specific to the context of HFpEF.

He is driven by intricate research techniques but also the strong public need for advanced therapies. While he has only just finished his Bachelor of Science at Monash University, he hopes his work this year will help contribute, even slightly, to the global HFpEF health burden.