Using genomic data to improve the understanding, prevention and management of heart disease

Dr Sonia Shah, The University of Queensland

2021 Future Leader Fellowship

Years funded: 2022-2026

Dr Sonia Shah's research uses large health and genomic datasets to address knowledge gaps, with the goal of improving understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

It is known that there can be differences in cardiovascular risk, presentation of disease symptoms and response to treatment depending on a person's sex as well as their ancestry. However, historically women and individuals of non-European ancestry have been under-studied. Dr Sonia Shah's research aims to improve the understanding of sex differences in cardiovascular risk, as well as develop a framework for engaging culturally and linguistically diverse communities in cardiovascular and genetics research. She is the lead investigator for the South Asian Genes and Health Study, which aims to increase the representation of South Asians in cardiovascular genetics research.