Dr Kristen Bubb holds a PhD in Physiology and leads the Translational Vascular Therapeutics Group, co-located in the Department of Physiology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute and the Victorian Heart Institute research labs in the Victorian Heart Hospital. Dr Bubb completed training at both Monash University and in at the William Harvey Research Institute in London, supported by a British Pharmacological Society International Fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology. Dr Bubb was then recruited to co-lead the Oxidative Signalling group at the Kolling Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, before returning to Monash in 2019, to develop her research program to identify novel therapeutic targets for cardiovascular diseases, with a focus on signalling molecules that interact with the vascular endothelium, to regulate vascular tone, integrity, and perfusion.

One of Kristen's main focuses is on investigating novel treatments for pulmonary hypertension (PH). PH is a chronic lung disease characterized by progressive remodelling of the pulmonary vasculature, resulting in increased pulmonary vascular resistance which leads to progressive right heart failure. Eight drugs have been FDA-approved for medical management of PH, all of which target the blood vessel wall. Endothelium-derived vasodilators and vasoconstrictors are imbalanced in PH and the majority of approved drugs target these pathways. However, the success of treatments is sub-optimal; they prolong and improve quality of life, but none are a cure. The majority of patients suffer from consequential right heart overload and eventually die of heart failure. We are interested in novel treatments to combat both the excessive pulmonary pressures but also ultimately improve right-sided cardiac function.

Kristen has identified a number of promising candidates. Approaches to investigate their potential range from obtaining clinical samples for investigating the underlying mechanisms, to use of cell and whole animal models to assess the effect of targeted therapy.