Our People

James Hudson

Professor | Group Leader

Cardiac Bioengineering

+61 7 3362 0141

james.hudson@qimrberghofer.edu.au

CAREER HISTORY

Professor James Hudson is the Group Leader of the Cardiac Bioengineering Research Group at QIMR Berghofer. His previous research has led to the development of human cardiac organoids that provide a model of human heart tissue in a dish. This research has also led to the discovery of biological processes that regulate cardiac biology and new drug candidates.

Professor Hudson studied chemical and biological engineering before obtaining his PhD in Biotechnology at the University of Queensland in 2011. He was appointed a German Cardiology Society Fellow and completed post-doctoral studies at the University Medical Centre in Göttingen, Germany from 2011-2012. He established his own research laboratory in 2014 and moved to QIMR Berghofer in 2018. Professor Hudson won an inaugural Snow Medical Fellowship to support his research from 2021-2028. He has received a number of prestigious awards, including the 2019 Metcalf Prize for Stem Cell Research and the Centenary Institute’s Medical Innovation Award in 2017.

CURRENT APPOINTMENTS

2018-current: Group Leader, Cardiac Bioengineering Laboratory

2021-2028: Snow Fellowship, Snow Medical Research Foundation

2017-2020: NHMRC Career Development Fellow

2017-2020: National Heart Foundation Future Leaders Fellow

2018-current: Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology

2018-current: Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland

PREVIOUS APPOINTMENTS

2014-2018: Group Leader, Cardiac Regeneration, University of Queensland

2013-2016: NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow

2011-2012: German Cardiology Society Fellow, Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann Lab, University Medical Center Göttingen

ORCID NUMBER

0000-0003-0832-9356

RESEARCHER ID

O-1775-2013

CURRENT AREA OF RESEARCH

The Cardiac Bioengineering Laboratory is focused on developing and using state-of-the art bioengineering approaches to understand how the heart works. Ultimately we aim to use this information to develop new therapeutics for human heart disease to enhance heart performance.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

  • complex combinatorial signalling that drives mesodermal and cardiac specification from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)
  • multiple cell populations are essential to create functional heart tissue and non-myocyte population phenotype has a big influence on the tissue properties
  • mechanical loading (both static and dynamic) is a very important factor and has a big influence on the tissue properties
  • metabolic conditions strongly influence tissue phenotype and function
  • identification of 2 therapeutic candidates for heart disease

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  • Australian Physiological Society
  • American Heart Association
  • International Society for Stem Cell Research
  • International Society for Heart Research

AWARDS RECOGNITION

2020

  • Snow Medical Research Foundation Fellowship

2019

  • Metcalf Prize for Stem Cell Research
  • Queensland Tall Poppy Award

2018

  • American Heart Association Paul Dudley White Award

2017

  • Centenary Institute Medical Innovation Award
  • National Heart Foundation Queensland Cardiovascular Researcher of the year
  • NHMRC Career Development Fellowship
  • National Heart Foundation Future Leaders Fellowship

2016

  • The National Heart Foundation Paul Korner Innovation Award

2014

  • NHMRC awarded outstanding nominated assessor

2013

  • Best oral presentation Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research
  • NHMRC Early Career Research Fellowship

2011

  • German Cardiology Society Postdoctoral Fellowship

2007

  • Student Winner, UniQuest Trailblazer

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

2011: Doctor of Philosophy (Biotechnology), University of Queensland

2006: Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical and Biological), University of Queensland