Dr Alice Harford

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Heart Transplant and scientific lead for The Living Heart Project at The Critical Care Research Facility at The Prince Charles Hospital. Assessing the Feasibility and Therapeutic Potential of Mitochondrial Transplantation for DCD Donor Hearts for Heart Transplantation - Determine the feasibility, safety and efficacy of mitochondrial transplantation (MTx) and hypothermic oxygenated perfusion (HOPE) in clinically relevant DCD donor heart transplant model. This pilot study aims to support future efforts to expand the clinical use of DCD donor hearts and challenge the arbitrary limits imposed by Australian DCD clinical protocols for heart transplantation. My background is in molecular ecological physiology focusing on underlying structural and functional disruption to mitochondrial bioenergetics and ultrastructure in cardiac and neural tissue during stress (i.e. oxygen limitation and thermal stress). My interests lie in the adaptive physiology of species inhabiting extreme and variable environments, as well as measuring the capacity and plasticity of these systems to compensate and maintain performance under changing environmental conditions. This is primarily focused at the level of the mitochondria, and examines their function, composition and stability under ecological stressors.