January 15, 2024 Print
Two of WIMR's pioneering researchers have been promoted to Professor by Sydney University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health.
Congratulations to WIMR’s Professor Mark Douglas and Professor James Chong on their well-deserved titles. The promotions recognise academic excellence and contributions to their fields of research.
We are pleased to see our researcher’s hard work recognised.
Professor Mark Douglas
Professor Mark Douglas is an Infectious Diseases physician and molecular virologist, with a strong
research interest in viral hepatitis. He heads the Viral Hepatitis Pathogenesis group at WIMR’s Storr Liver Centre.
Professor Douglas is involved in a broad range of projects, from basic molecular pathogenesis to clinical research, including COVID-19. He runs liver clinics for patients with Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, and also treats patients at Westmead Hospital with HIV and a range of Infectious Diseases.
The overall aim of Professor Douglas’ research is to improve the health and wellbeing of people with chronic viral infections.
Professor James Chong
Professor James Chong is Co-Director of WIMR’s Centre for Heart Research, Head of WIMR’s Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory, and an interventional cardiologist at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital.
Professor Chong’s research focuses on developing new and effective treatments for repairing and regenerating the heart. He has more than a decade of experience in developing stem cell-based therapies for cardiac regeneration and is currently investigating methods for enhancing the regenerative capacity of pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.
Professor Chong is also interested in understanding the mechanisms by which the cardiac matrix impacts heart repair after myocardial infarction (heart attack), in particular, effect of platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) on cardiac matrix composition and remodelling.