Shane Thomas

Associate Professor Shane Thomas is a biochemist and vascular biologist who has built an international reputation for his basic science and preclinical research into the roles of oxidative stress and inflammation in the development of cardiovascular disease and inflammatory disorders. He received a PhD in 1999 from the University of Sydney for his studies investigating the role of oxidative stress in atherosclerosis. A/Prof. Thomas was the awarded an NHMRC CJ Martin fellowship (2000-04) to perform his post-doctoral studies on oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction under the mentorship of Prof. John Keaney, Jr. at the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University (USA). He subsequently received an NHMRC RD Wright Career Development Award (CDA; 2006-10) that allowed to him establish an independent research group at the Centre for Vascular Research, UNSW. Since this time, he has successfully led an independent, externally funded cardiovascular disease-focused research program at UNSW within the School of Medical Sciences. He currently co-leads the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Research Group and is Head of the Department of Pathology in the School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW. My research has made significant contributions to understanding how oxidative stress and inflammation cause cardiovascular disease. My current research is developing new nanotechnological therapies that selectively target and suppress deleterious inflammatory and oxidative processes that are driving the development of dangerous atherosclerotic lesions in coronary arteries and impairing the healing process in heart tissue after a myocardial infarction. The current goal is to therefore deliver new clinically viable therapeutics for coronary artery disease patients to reduce their risk of suffering a heart attack or optimizing the healing of the heart after a myocardial infarction. The research program employs biochemical and molecular biological approaches and uses novel pre-clinical models of cardiovascular disease across the disciplines of pharmacology and vascular biology.