James Hudson
Professor | Group Leader
+61 7 3362 0141james.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
RESEARCHER ID
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