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FOUNDED 2016
proudly supports
The Shaun Miller Foundation
the Victor Chang
Cardiac Research Institute
making a real difference
'Heart to Heart'
through world leading
congenital heart disease research
Lady Diana, Princess of Wales
Institute Patriarch.
Site Title
* * * Proffesor Sally Dunwoodie * * *
Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
Congenital Heart Disease Team
Professor Sally Dunwoodie
Congenital Heart Disease accounts for 30% of deaths of Children under five all around the world.
Every week 42 babies are born with CHD a whopping 80% of all cases of CHD
remain unsolved because Doctors have no idea what causes this deadly disease.
The Shaun Miller Foundation proudly supports the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute
making a real difference Heart to Heart through world leading Congenital Heart Disease research
but we cannot achieve our goals alone. Find out how you can help by becoming a Heart Cure Angel.
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Heart to Heart
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Dr. Victor Chang was the pioneer of modern Heart Transplantation
his achievements include developing Australia’s National Heart Transplant Program
at St Vincent’s hospital which has performed more than 1200 successful
heart, heart-lung and single lung transplants since 1984.
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He also saw the incredible value of research – playing a key role
in the development of the artificial heart valve
and in later years developed the artificial heart.
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As a gifted surgeon, respected humanitarian and skilled campaigner
Victor Chang (Yam Him) was born in Shanghai
of Australian-born Chinese parents
he came to Australia in 1953 to complete his secondary schooling
at Christian Brothers College, Lewisham
and graduated from Sydney University in 1962
with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.
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In 1966 Victor became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons
at the age of 30 and initially trained in general surgery in England
but he commenced serious training
in cardiac and thoracic surgery at the Brompton Hospital
for Chest Diseases in London.
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It was in London that he met and married his wife, Ann
after two years at the Mayo Clinic in the United States
where he was chief resident he returned to Sydney in 1972
to join the elite St Vincent’s Cardiothoracic Team
which included Dr. Harry Windsor and Dr. Mark Shanahan.
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In 1973 he was made a Fellow of the Australasian College of Surgeons
and in 1975 he became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
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A pioneer of the modern era of heart transplantation
Dr. Victor Chang was responsible for the establishment
of the National Heart Transplant Unit at St Vincent’s Hospital in 1984
lobbying politicians and raising funds for it's ongoing work.
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At the same time he helped teams from St Vincent’s
travel to China, Singapore and Indonesia
where they shared their medical, surgical, nursing
and hospital administration expertise.
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In 1986 Victor Chang was awarded the Order of Australia
and the University of New South Wales awarded him
it's highest degree of M.D. Honoris Causa
for “scholarly achievement and humanitarian endeavour”.
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Dr. Victor Chang died in tragic circumstances
in Sydney on 4 July 1991.
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He was an Honorary Professor of Surgery
to the Chinese Academy of Medical Science in Peking
an honorary Professor of Surgery to Shanghai Medical School
official advisor on cardiac surgery development in Indonesia
and a member of the Australia China Council.
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In 2000, Dr. Victor Chang was named
Australian of the Century
by the people of Australia.
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He is remembered as a quiet, charming man
much loved by his patients and his friends
his wife Ann and his children Vanessa, Matthew and Marcus.
'We Help Mend Broken Heart's'
Dr. Victor Chang A.C
Australian Of The Century
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Professor Sally Dunwoodie, B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D.
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Professor Sally Dunwoodie
received her B.Sc. (Hons) in 1986 from the University of Sydney
gained a Ph.D. in 1993 researching the genetic control of muscle development
with Edna Hardeman at the Children’s Medical Research Institute
and the University of Sydney Australia.
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She next undertook postdoctoral training in the Mammalian Development Unit
at the National Institute for Medical Research, in London, UK
working with Rosa Beddington FRS, she identified novel genes active
during mouse embryo development, which she and others have shown
are essential for normal developmental processes.
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In 2000, Sally returned to Australia to take up a faculty position
at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.
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Sally currently holds a NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship
and is a Professor of the Faculty of Medicine
at the University of New South Wales.
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The work of Sally’s laboratory has received continuous competitive
grant funding since 2001 funds have been awarded from the NHMRC,
Pfizer Foundation Australia, Australian Research Council,
Cancer Institute New South Wales and National Heart Foundation.
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Since 2000, Sally has delivered invited lectures
at 21 international and 47 national meetings and research departments.
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Sally’s research goals are to define molecular and cellular
interactions that orchestrate mammalian development
through a mechanistic understanding of genetic
and environmental interactions.
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In particular her research focuses on development
of the cardiovascular system and placenta
the role of Notch signal transduction in somitogenesis
and vertebral column formation, and the impact
of hypoxia on embryogenesis,
research projects encompass human clinical genetics
and mouse embryogenesis.
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Sally was awarded the inaugural Pfizer Foundation Australia
Senior Research Fellowship in 2003, in 2008 she was awarded
the Australian and New Zealand Society of Cell and Developmental
Biology (ANZSCDB) inaugural Young Investigator Award.
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Sally is an Associate Editor of the International Journal
of Developmental Biology, an Editorial Board Member of Mechanisms
of Development and Mechanisms of Development,
and a Guest Editor of Current Opinion in Genetics and Development.
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Sally regularly reviews for international journals
national and international granting agencies
has been a member of grant review panels for the NHMRC
and has served as a member of the NHMRC Assigners Academy.
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Sally has served as the NSW state representative for the ANZSCDB
and has contributed to the organisation of both
national and international conferences.
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Of note, in 2005 Sally co-convened
the 15th International Developmental Biologists Congress
and in 2013 co-convened The Hunter Meeting
which is Australia’s premier Cell and Developmental Biology Meeting
Laboratory Head since 2000.
