Prof James Chong is an interventional cardiologist at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital and head of the Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory at Westmead Institute for Medical Research. James’ research focuses on developing new and effective treatments for repairing and regenerating the heart. He has over 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. James 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.James’ research has been published in top journals in the field of stem cell biology, including Nature, Nature Communications, Nature Cardiovascular Research,Cell Stem Cell, Circulation Research and Science Translational Medicine. He has also secured more than $120M in funding, including a current NHMRC/MRFF Investigator grant. James has won a number of accolades for his work, including a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, and was named one of the Rising Stars in Cardiovascular Research by the NSW Minister for Health.