Professor Morag J. Young is an internationally recognised leader in cardiovascular endocrinology and heart failure research, serving as Head of the Cardiovascular Endocrinology Laboratory and Co-Lead of the Heart Failure Program at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia. She also holds adjunct professor appointments at Monash University and at the University of Melbourne and adjunct professorial appointments at Monash University.
Professor Young’s research has been foundational in defining the role of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) signalling in cardiovascular disease. Her program integrates molecular biology, preclinical models, and clinical translation to uncover cell-specific mechanisms of MR action in cardiomyocytes, macrophages and the vasculature. Her work has also identified a novel interaction between the MR and the circadian clock, providing new insight into how time-of-day biology contributes to cardiovascular pathology, and to MR signalling in normal physiology and disease.
A major focus of her research is the development of safer, tissue-selective MR modulators for the treatment of heart failure and fibrotic diseases. She has translated her discoveries into drug development pipelines and biomarker studies in patient cohorts, supported by extensive collaborations with industry and clinical partners.
Professor Young is widely recognised for her research excellence and leadership. She has published >130 papers in leading journals and is regularly invited to deliver keynote lectures at major international conferences. She serves as Deputy Editor of the Journal of Endocrinology and the Journal of Molecular Endocrinology, and contributes to international scientific committees, including the US, Australian and British Endocrine Societies and AAMRI.
In addition to her scientific achievements, Professor Young is committed to mentoring the next generation of researchers and advancing equity in science. She has supervised numerous PhD students and postdoctoral fellows and has led institutional initiatives in gender equity and diversity. Through her integrated and translational research program, Professor Young continues to drive advances in cardiovascular medicine, with a strong focus centred on preventing the onset and progression of heart failure and improving quality of life for patients living with heart failure.
Winifred G. Nayler Lecture (ex Basic Science Prize ~2025)
Professor Winifred G. “Gwen” Nayler is one of Australia’s most innovative cardiovascular scientists of the 20th century, internationally regarded for her pioneering work on myocardial metabolism and cardiovascular pharmacology. She was a leading pioneer in the development of beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists and calcium channel blockers for the regulation of cardiovascular function. Her leadership and research contributed greatly to the early clinical use of these drug classes to manage high blood pressure and angina.
After undertaking her degrees of BSc, MSc and DSc at the University of Melbourne, Prof Nayler worked initially as a clinical biochemist in pathology at Austin Hospital and joined the Baker Medical Research Institute in Melbourne in 1955. In 1966, at the age of 36, she became Associate Director of the Baker Institute until 1972. The following year, Dr Nayler moved to the UK to take up the position of Professor of Cardiac Metabolism in the Department of Cardiac Medicine, Cardiothoracic Institute at the University of London. At a time when very few women worked in medicine and science, she was presenting invited plenary lectures across North America, Europe and Japan. It was from her work during her time in the UK that led to her being shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
During the mid-1970s she co-founded the Australia and New Zealand Section of the International Society of Heart Research (ISHR). Highly respected and influential, she was elected the first female President of the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) from 1986-1989 and organized the ISHR World Congress to be held in Melbourne in 1986.
Prof Nayler returned to Australia to lead a research team at the Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne Austin Hospital from 1980-1994.
A 40+ year career, with more than 450 research journal publications and books that defined major cardiovascular discoveries and novel therapeutics. Her legacy of research and teaching includes the training of numerous postgraduate students and post-docs, of which many have become prominent in their specialties.
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