Cardiac Research Group

Dr David Winlaw (Head, Cardiac Research Group), Dr Tanya Butler (Senior postdoctoral scientist), Carol Au (PhD student), Dr Jon Egan (PhD student), Yee Mun Tan (Research assistant), Leigh Waddell (Data coordinator).

Dr Winlaw heads the Cardiac Research Group within the Neurogenetics Research Unit. Dr Winlaw is a cardiac surgeon and with a research interest into the causes of congenital heart disease and improvements in therapeutic outcomes for children with congenital heart disease

The need for research in this area is clear. Congenital heart disease affects 1 in 100 newborn babies and is the leading cause of death from birth defects during infancy. Problems range from simple 'holes in the heart' to complex malformations where important parts of the heart are absent or not properly developed.

The basic science component of the program functions as the Cardiac Group within the Neurogenetics Research Unit, headed by Professor Kathryn North. The focus of study is the role of water transport proteins in skeletal muscle and the heart. The clinical imperatives for study are two-fold. Firstly, expression of an important water channel, aquaporin 4, is altered in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Secondly, inappropriate water accumulation is the hallmark of recovery from open heart surgery in young children and this seriously affects cardiac performance. Dr Winlaw collaborates with Professor Alan Verkman (University of California, USA) on projects related to aquaporin expression in the heart.

A further theme of research in the laboratory is the genetic basis of congenital heart disease. Our focus is on transcription factors involved in cardiac development, as part of a collaboration with Professor Richard Harvey at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.

Dr Winlaw is also involved in clinical research projects examining the neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants undergoing open-heart surgery in the first 90 days of life and bedside investigations into the relationship between cardiac output, vasopressin release and water retention after complex cardiac surgery.

Selected Publications

Au CG, Cooper ST, Lo HP, Compton AG, Yang N, Wintour M, North KN, Winlaw DS. Expression of aquaporin 1 in human heart and skeletal muscle. J Molecular Cellular Cardiology 2004; 36(5):655-66.