This newsletter marks both the end of the year and my final communication as CEO of ACvA. As many of you already know, after a rewarding career in health and public service, including five incredible years with ACvA, I will be stepping down as CEO in the final week of December.

Reflecting on my time here, it has been an absolute privilege to work alongside so many dedicated individuals and to witness the growth of ACvA. What started as an ambitious vision to improve health outcomes has evolved into a thriving national collaboration. Together, we have developed a clear strategy and established meaningful initiatives to tackle the unmet needs in cardiovascular and stroke health.

As you’ll read below, I am pleased to introduce Rob Tassie as our new CEO. With 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Rob brings invaluable expertise and a shared passion for advancing our mission. I have full confidence that under his leadership, ACvA will continue to make great strides in improving healthcare outcomes for all.

As we approach the holiday season, I want to take a moment to wish each of you a restful and rejuvenating break. I hope you enjoy this time with your loved ones and return refreshed for the new year ahead. It has been an honour to serve as your CEO, and while I’ll miss working alongside you all, I look forward to seeing the continued success of ACvA under Rob’s leadership.

Kerry Doyle PSM OAM

CEO, ACvA

ACvA HIGHLIGHTS

 2024 Annual General Meeting

The 2024 Annual General Meeting, held virtually on November 13th, was an opportunity to reflect on progress and accomplishments over the past year, including updates from our core initiatives, the Clinical Themes Initiatives and the Cardiovascular Health Research Leadership Forum.

The new Emerging Leaders Committee was formally introduced and we also took a moment to express our gratitude to the outgoing members for their invaluable contributions. Garry Jennings, Peter Meikle and Rebecca Ritchie, who are stepping down as Flagship Directors, were thanked for their leadership and contributions. We also acknowledged Kerry-Anne Rye who has stepped down from the Board but remains active on the ACvA Remuneration and and Nominations Committee.

In exciting news, we announced the securing of significant Commonwealth funding which you can read more about below and the launch of a Targeted Seed Fund Opportunity to support demonstration projects and spearhead the Clinical Theme Initiative, with Expression of Interest submissions due end of January 2025.

The AGM also marked the election of the ACvA Board’s Office Bearers, with the following directors confirmed for leadership roles:

• President: Jason Kovacic
• Deputy President: Jamie Vandenberg
• Company Secretary: Alta Schutte
• Treasurer: Chloe Flutter

Introducing ACvA's New CEO

The Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (ACvA) is delighted to announce the appointment of Robert Tassie as Chief Executive Officer, commencing 3 February 2025.

Mr Tassie will succeed Kerry Doyle PSM OAM, who will retire after a 30-year career in health and public service including five years as ACvA CEO.

ACvA Commonwealth Funding 

We’re thrilled to share that the ACvA has been awarded significant Commonwealth funding, which will enable us to continue driving innovation and national collaboration in CVD and stroke research.

Read the complete media release below.

2024 National Cardiovascular Summit

The 2024 National Cardiovascular Early and Mid-Career Researchers (EMCR) Summit, held in Sydney on 25 November was a fantastic opportunity to connect, learn, and grow alongside peers, mentors, and experts in the field. The presentations and discussions were both insightful and generous, with panellists offering valuable perspectives, answering questions, and sharing their personal journeys.

Inaugural National Hypertension Summit

The inaugural National Hypertension Summit 2024 was held November 26 in Sydney. 

The Honourable Mark Butler Minister for Health & Aged Care delivered an opening address saying, “Real change requires unity and coordinated action from all corners of the healthcare system. Summits like today are crucial for maintaining focus, building momentum, and ensuring we stay on course...”

ACvA Awards Save-the-Date

The Awards have closed and our judges have the unenviable task of selecting Finalists and Winners from what was once again an incredibly strong field of applications.

Come and join us to celebrate in Brisbane  on Thursday 20 February 2025. You can register HERE.

CAD Prioritisation Workshop in the Illawarra

Building on the September CAD workshop in Wollongong, a Prioritisation Workshop was held with local health system leaders, data experts, and consumers with the goal of identifying a priority research question for the Illawarra Shoalhaven region.

Key Priority Areas identified included:

• Empowering Patients to Manage Their Health
• Coordinated Prevention Through Team-Based Care
• Innovative Diagnosis and Screening Approaches

A follow up workshop is planned for early next year to refine these priorities and develop a targeted research project to be progressed through Illawarra Shoalhaven leadership.

ACvA Reports & Publications

You may have seen that we have a new Reports and Publications page on our website! This dedicated resource is designed to be a hub of knowledge, providing access to a wealth of valuable content, including:

• Journal Articles
• Workshop Reports
• Initiative Updates

You can find it HERE.

SECTOR ACTIVITIES & UPDATES

• The ACvA, the Heart Foundation and state Cardiovascular Research Networks have created a joint submission to the NHMRC reflecting the concerns of the sector around changing the eligibility requirement for Emerging Leadership (EL) applicants.

• ACvA’s President Professor Jason Kovacic is announced as the new AAMRI President-elect.

• The Federal Government is inviting individuals, businesses, and community groups to submit their ideas and priorities for the 2025-26 Budget by 31 January 2025.
• The Australian Government announced $251.7m to deliver Australia’s Centre for Disease Control (CDC).
• Ms Rosemary Huxtable AO PSM has been appointed as chair of the National Health and Medical Research Strategy.
• Tasmania’s new 20-year Preventative Health Strategy is now open for submissions.
• The Department of Health & Aged Care Scope of Practice Review Report is now available to download.
• The MRFF has released the Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities 2024–2026.
• You can read the National Rural Health Alliance submission to the Consultation on the updated National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand’s: Australian clinical guidelines for diagnosing and managing Acute Coronary Syndromes.
• Western Australia commits $15m to new health innovation hub.
• AAMRI calls for urgent action to safeguard Australia’s medical research sector in their 2025-26 pre-budget submission.
• Monash University Clinical Trials Centre (MUCTC) has launched a consumer and community engagement platform open to all researchers from universities and companies across Australia who wish to engage consumers and community members in their research.
• Global Heart Hub has released a report from their International Roundtable Discussion on Late, Missed and Misdiagnosis of Heart Disease in Women.
• The World Heart Federation contributed to the WHO COP29 Special Report on Climate Change and Health, calling for health to be central in climate change negotiations and has made a webinar with highlights Celebrating a Decade of Impact The 10th Anniversary of the Emerging Leaders Programme.
• BiVACOR’s total Artificial heart was selected by TIME as one of the best inventions in 2024.
• Support CVD research by voting for your peers in the shaping Australia Awards before 19 January 2025.

EVENTS & TRAINING

Community Engagement to Improve Blood Pressure Management – Submissions for Special Issue

Co-lead of the Australian National Hypertension Taskforce Professor Alta Schutte, Dr Niamh Chapman and Professor Liz Halcomb are leading an editorial team in the Journal of Hypertension for a special issue on Community Engagement to Improve Blood Pressure Management. Papers on original research and/or innovative methods are invited for this special issue on the following topics related to hypertension:

• Patient education and health literacy,
• Patient activation, engagement and empowerment,
• Team-based and community-based care,
• Health equity and priority populations
• Lifestyle and behaviour change.

Submissions are open from February 2025 to May 2025 with a view to publish the issue late 2025.

GRANTS & OPPORTUNITIES

As members, you are the ACvA, so please let us know if you have any cardiovascular and stroke research news, events, jobs or training which you’d like to share. Email nina.cullen@ozheart.org 

Tag us in your posts so we can help spread the word:

@OzCvA (Twitter)

@Australian Cardiovascular Alliance (LinkedIn)

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