ProfLana McClements

Lana McClements is a highly motivated Lab Head of the Cardio-Obstetrics Research Group at UTS who is focused on women’s health as well as advocacy for women in STEM. In 2022, Lana was awarded a Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship to focus on her research program which aims to develop better monitoring strategies and treatments for preeclampsia, a cardiovascular disease in pregnant women, which can also lead to future cardiovascular and metabolic disease after pregnancy.

In 2022, Lana was recognised for her work with a prestigious Newcastle Reproduction Emerging Research Leader Award from the Society for Reproductive Biology. Lana was awarded high commendation as an Emerging Health Researcher by BUPA Foundation in 2020. She was a finalist in the UTS Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence (Early Career Researcher 2020 and Research Development and Leadership 2021/2022) and the 2020 Johnson & Johnson Maternal Health Quickfire Challenge in the USA.

Lana is working to develop a new test for preeclampsia. She leads a team that has patented new biomarkers able to predict the risk of preeclampsia early in pregnancy and identify cases of evolving preeclampsia. They recently developed a highly sensitive point-of-care diagnostic test based on these biomarkers. Currently there are no effective preventive or treatment strategies for preeclampsia short of preterm delivery of the baby.

Lana’s team of eleven researchers are developing advanced 3D bioprinted and multicellular models of placental, vascular and heart tissue to better understand the mechanisms of pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and evaluate new or emerging treatments.

Lana is passionate about gender equality and women’s empowerment in academia and is Chair of the Faculty of Science Equity and Diversity Committee at UTS. Previously she led the Academic Women in Science (AWiS) network.

She is a member of the NSW Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN), Society for Reproductive Biology, Australian and New Zealand Placental Research Association (ANZPRA), Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) and International Society for Heart Research (Australasia). She is honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.

Disease areas of interest: Pre-eclampsia, Placental biology, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes and Gestational diabetes mellitus

- 3D bioprinted/multicellular models of placenta, fibrosis and heart disease
- Placental development/biology
- Cardiac health
- Blood-based and tissue-based biomarkers (miRNA, circRNA, RNA, proteins)
- Identification of disease mechanisms and targets
- Stem cells biology and treatment (mesenchymal stem cells, cancer stem cells)
- Transcriptomics and proteomics
- Endothelial dysfunction/angiogenesis
- Oxidative stress/anti-oxidants

Other areas of research in the same disease areas:

- Home monitoring/connected health
/mHealth
- Meta-analysis/systematic reviews
- Service evaluations
- Service development
- Health and Gender inequalities
- Global health.