Dr Yow Keat Tham is a Group Leader and Baker-La Trobe Senior Research Fellow whose work sits at the cutting edge of cardiovascular health — exploring how the body's lipids (molecules such as fat) can be harnessed to prevent and treat heart disease.

Leading the Cardiovascular Lipidomics and Therapeutics program in the Metabolomics laboratory, Yow Keat combines advanced imaging, molecular biology and lipidomics to address key research questions, with the goal of developing innovative lipid-based therapies that could transform outcomes for people living with cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions.

Yow Keat completed his PhD and postdoctoral stint under the mentorship of Professor Julie McMullen, where he demonstrated that specific lipid species in the heart and circulation behaved differently in response to exercise as compared to different heart diseases. His current research program pursues modulating protective lipids as a therapeutic to treat cardiovascular disease. His findings have led to publications in leading journals including Nature Cardiovascular Research, Cell Reports and Diabetes.

Beyond the lab, Yow Keat is committed to nurturing the next generation of researchers. He has co-chaired Early Career Researcher committees at the Baker Institute and within the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR), and currently serves as Graduate Research Coordinator for the La Trobe Baker Department of Cardiovascular Research, Translation and Implementation as well as Secretary for the ISHR Australasian Section Council.