Rate My Professor Aaron Sverdlov

Professor Aaron Sverdlov is a cardiologist and clinician-scientist affiliated with the University of Newcastle School of Medicine and Public Health, where he holds the position of Professor and Director of Heart Failure. He maintains a Clinical Academic appointment as a cardiologist at John Hunter Hospital and serves as Clinical Lead for Heart Failure Services within the Hunter New England Local Health District. Additionally, he is Co-Director of the Newcastle Centre of Excellence in Cardio-Oncology at the University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute. Sverdlov obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Adelaide in 2000. He completed postgraduate training in general medicine and cardiology, including two years as Chief Medical Resident, and was admitted to Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) in 2007. Appointed as staff specialist in cardiology at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Lyell McEwin Hospital from 2008 to 2017, he earned his PhD from the University of Adelaide in 2012 under Professor John Horowitz, investigating the pathogenesis of aortic valve disease and providing the first human evidence that its progression responds to renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors. Supported by NHMRC CJ Martin and American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowships, he conducted research at Boston University from 2012 to 2015, demonstrating the role of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species in obesity-induced heart disease and identifying novel reactive cysteines in mitochondrial complex II.

Relocating to Newcastle in 2017, Sverdlov was appointed Associate Professor and Director of Heart Failure at the University of Newcastle, with promotion to Professor in December 2022. In partnership with Professor Doan Ngo, he established Australia's first bench-to-bedside cardio-oncology program, "Cancer and the Heart," integrating basic and clinical research on cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity with an outpatient service at Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital. His research interests include mechanisms of heart failure, particularly those linked to obesity and diabetes, mitochondrial and redox stress, novel biomarkers for heart disease detection, and cardio-oncology. Sverdlov has attracted over $18 million in competitive research funding, authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications with an h-index of 32, and led the Australian Cardio-Oncology Roadmap and Research Priorities. Notable publications encompass "Oxidative Stress in Heart Failure" (2019, 2020), position statements on baseline cardiovascular risk assessment in cancer patients (2020), and studies on PARP inhibitors ameliorating doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity (2023). Awards include the Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship (2018-2022) for his heart failure research program, 2018 Ministerial Award for Rising Stars in Cardiovascular Research, NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship, and American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship. He holds fellowships from the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (FCSANZ), European Society of Cardiology (FESC), Heart Failure Association (FHFA), and American College of Cardiology (FACC).