Dr Katrina Mirabito Colafella (née Mirabito) leads the Molecular and Integrative Mechanisms of Vascular Biology Laboratory within the Department of Physiology and Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) and is the inagural BDI Anita Castan Fellow. Her research aims to transform cardiovascular care through precision medicine by uncovering the molecular and integrative mechanisms that regulate blood pressure and vascular health, with a particular focus on sex-specific pathways and hormonal influences that shape cardiovascular risk across the lifespan.

A key component of Katrina’s research vision is understanding how therapies for non-cardiovascular conditions—such as cancer treatments—impact the heart and vasculature, and developing strategies to prevent or reverse any adverse effects. Her laboratory employs advanced techniques, including radiotelemetry for continuous blood pressure monitoring, vascular reactivity assays, molecular profiling of signaling pathways, and integrative physiological approaches combining in vivo and ex vivo models. These methods enable a comprehensive understanding of cardiovascular regulation from the whole body to single-cell levels.

Dr Colafella’s work bridges basic science and translational research to deliver targeted interventions, and her lab collaborates across disciplines to address pressing challenges in cardiovascular medicine. Ultimately, her research program seeks to redefine cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment for vulnerable populations, improving long-term health outcomes for both women and men as they age.

Dr Colafella’s career highlights include the AJP Renal Paper of the Year for 2014, an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship (2016-2021), Finalist for the American Heart Association Stephanie Watts Career Development Award (2018), and the BDI Mid-Career Researcher Rising Star Award (2023). In 2024, Katrina was named as the inaugural BDI Anita Castan Fellow (2025-2027).

Dr Colafella is deeply committed to supporting the next generation of researchers and fostering a collaborative, inclusive research culture. She has co-led national initiatives to identify and address equity and sustainability challenges within the cardiovascular research community in Australia. This work began with a landmark survey highlighting intrinsic equity issues (PMID:32839116), followed by a roadmap proposing actionable solutions (PMID:35577952). Building on these findings, Katrina helped lead a national consultation with key stakeholders at the 2023 National EMCR Summit (supported by ACvA, CSANZ, and NHF), which resulted in recommendations for a national workforce sustainability strategy in cardiovascular research (PMID:39550291). She has since extended this approach to the broader medical research sector, contributing to the first national survey of workplace culture and wellbeing for early- and mid-career academics (supported by Research Australia; https://doi.org/10.26188/25538017) as part of the working group driving this initiative.