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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Touched by bowel cancer and chasing science outcomes
Dr Josephine Wright is a Senior Research Fellow in the Gut Cancer group. She has been developing a translational network of labs, hospitals and clinics to enable validation of new approaches to prevent and treat colorectal and gastric cancer. Her key focus is studying human tumour organoids to better personalise therapy in cancer.
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Relationship between mental illness and mental wellbeing
Since 2015, Dr Matthew Iasiello has been working on the development and dissemination of mental wellbeing interventions across the Australian community at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). His PhD research was designed specifically to strengthen the translational work conducted by SAHMRI, and to solve problems that represented gaps in the literature that were arising when delivering mental wellbeing interventions into the community. The impact and relevance of Dr Iasiello’s work has been demonstrated with invited presentations at international academic conferences, and multiple media stories with significant online engagements.
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Blister management and impact on firefighters
David Burns, a Senior Paramedic with LifeAid, a private paramedicine company in Victoria and, has a diverse background in healthcare. He began his career as a registered nurse, progressing to critical care nursing specialising in liver transplants and cardiovascular surgery.
At the Australasian College of Paramedicine International Conference, David presented research focused on the foot care of firefighters during prolonged bushfire campaigns. During the 2019-2020 bushfires, over 10,000 firefighters sought care, with nearly 50% requiring attention for foot-related issues. David emphasised that inadequate foot care could bench firefighters for up to 10 days, diminishing their ability to protect communities and critical infrastructure. Recognising the economic benefits of prioritising firefighter health, David advocates that ensuring their well-being allows communities to recover effectively and enhances safety for all involved in firefighting efforts.
