Professor Alta Schutte Awarded NHMRC Grant to Tackle Australia’s Hypertension Crisis

Congratulations to Professor Alta Schutte on receiving the prestigious 2023 NHMRC Fiona Stanley Synergy Grant Award for her research into solving Australia’s hypertension crisis.

As the SHARP Professor and Principal Theme Lead of Cardiac, Vascular and Metabolic Medicine at UNSW and The George Institute for Global Health, Alta Schutte has dedicated her career to implementing effective, scalable interventions for global blood pressure control.

Her appointment as Co-Chair of the National Hypertension Taskforce in 2022 and her service on the board of Hypertension Australia further underscore her commitment to this cause.

Despite Australia’s world-class healthcare system, only 32% of adults with high blood pressure are being treated appropriately. Schutte’s work seeks to address this alarming statistic by identifying the cracks in the system where high-risk individuals remain undetected and untreated.

Her research delves into the interplay of age, sex, socio-economic status, diet, salt, and physiological mechanisms contributing to hypertension. However, Schutte has shifted her focus to health system solutions, exploring questions like why effective medications aren’t working, better methods for measuring and detecting high blood pressure, and the impact of healthcare costs on treatment adherence.

Schutte’s collaborative approach, working with experts across disciplines and countries, has been instrumental in her success. She emphasizes the importance of networking and seeking diverse perspectives to tackle complex problems effectively.

With the Fiona Stanley Synergy Grant Award, Schutte’s research will undoubtedly gain further momentum, bringing us closer to solving Australia’s hypertension treatment challenge and improving cardiovascular health for all Australians. Congratulations, Professor Schutte, on this well-deserved recognition!