Meet Professor Anushka Patel: Advancing cardiovascular health through research, leadership and expert advice

Professor Anushka Patel is an internationally recognised cardiovascular researcher whose work has helped improve the prevention and treatment of heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes across Australia and around the world.

A clinician, researcher and global health leader, Professor Patel has led landmark studies that have influenced clinical practice, informed health policy and improved outcomes for millions of people. She is also a valued member of NHMRC's Research Committee (RC), providing expert advice on health and medical research priorities and investments.

Behind every researcher is a story. Watch this video to discover the journey, experiences and insights that have shaped their work, and hear firsthand reflections from Anushka’s role as a researcher, leader and member of RC.

Video transcript

0:05 Professor Anushka Patel
So my name is Anushka Patel.

I'm the Chief Executive Officer of the George Institute for Global Health, which is an independent medical research institute.

I was always interested in research while I was a medical student, but I didn't really, really understand that this would be become an important part of my career until I was training in, in cardiology.

And I was, this was in the mid-90s, and I was seeing in real time lots of evidence emerging about new and effective treatments to manage people with acute heart attack. And those, that evidence being taken up into practise really quickly and having an immediate impact on outcomes for patients. And that really inspired me to follow a career in research, particularly around clinical trials.

For an individual researcher it's an enormous privilege to receive NHMRC funding.

0:51
It's, it's hard to get and there's so much research and, and so many researchers who are deserving of funding and just don't receive it because the limited amounts available.

But it's also, I think a very important responsibility to conduct high-quality research and also to focus throughout the life cycle of, of conducting that research around how that's going to be translated eventually into impact.

Because funding is just an input. Ultimately, we're all looking for that public health impact.

1:18
Well, I've had the privilege of actually being on Research Committee since 2019 and on Council for the last 18 months or so.

There's been many significant achievements over that period. For example, an entire overhaul of the grant program, lots of world leading initiatives around gender equity.

But I think for me personally, what I've really enjoyed watching and contributing to is the growing and shifting focus around research quantity to research quality and impact.

And that's been embedded throughout everything NHMRC does from a research perspective in terms of how they decide which grants to award, how those grants are administered, they're peer reviewed and ultimately the translation activities that NHMRC supports.

2:09
So, it's been really great to be part of that. NHMRC and Research Committee's contribution to NHMRC is always focused on not just researchers who are active right now but thinking about future generations and those coming through the pipeline.

It's it is tough. And through all the activities around peer reviewed funding, but also translational activities, there is a specific emphasis on the next generation.

2:36
One of the great things about NHMRC and being on the Research Committee is it's continuously learning and it's using data, looking at data often and in many different ways to inform decisions. And that includes thinking about how do we identify, support and grow the next generation of researchers across Australia, across all disciplines.

End of transcript.