Catalyst Partnership Grants Showcase event

Media release: Tuesday 25 March 2025

Showcasing game-changing innovations for heart health

Twenty teams with innovative ideas to dramatically improve heart health in Australia will make their final pitch before a live audience this week to become one of 10 Catalyst Partnership Grant recipients and a part of the Heart Foundation’s first-ever Innovation Portfolio.

The Heart Foundation’s Catalyst Partnership Grants Showcase event will happen on 25th and 26th March in Melbourne, uniting more than 300 leading academics, philanthropists, research funding experts, investors and venture funds at the Grand Hyatt for the first event of its kind in Australia: the hunt to find and fund game-changing innovations for heart health.

The Showcase brings the Foundation’s vision of a more rapid response to emerging heart health issues to life.

Heart Foundation CEO David Lloyd said the Catalyst Partnership Grants would complement the Foundation’s long and decorated history of funding cardiovascular research.

With Catalyst, we’re trying to bring innovations that might not qualify for traditional research programs into a room with potential funders who share our passion for ending heartache but don’t necessarily know where to look for projects to support.

David Lloyd

CEO, Heart Foundation

“We felt we needed to add this approach to the ecosystem that’s dealing with heart disease in Australia if we have any hope of the impact we need to curtail Australia’s growing epidemic of cardiovascular disease.

“The program team has spent the last 12 months trawling the research, community, public and private sectors for visionary solutions - from replacing Australia’s standard salt supply with a heart-healthier potassium-based alternative - to pioneering 3D-printed heart valves that could transform treatment for children with heart valve disease.

“The timing is critical: Australia’s population is growing, and younger generations face new and emerging heart health risks. We can’t afford to wait decades for change - we need solutions now.”

For more on the Catalyst Partnership Grants Showcase, visit https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/catalyst