I was awarded a CJ Martin Early Career Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC), which supports my post-doc in Prof Danser’s lab for 2 years and also for 2 years back in Australia.

My most substantial scientific contribution so far is my PhD work:

Mirabito et al, Hypertension. 2014 64(3):626-31. (PMID: 24935937)
Mirabito et al, Biology of Sex Differences. 2014 5:13. (PMID: 25774285)
Mirabito et al, AJP Renal. 2014. 207(8):F901-7. (PMID: 25164079) *Awarded AJP Renal Paper of the Year for 2014
Mirabito Colafella et al 2016. Clinical Science. 2016 130(10):761-771. (PMID: 27128801)

Collectively, these studies demonstrated that the angiotensin type 2 receptor plays a key role in the lower arterial pressure observed in adult female as compared to age-matched male mice. Moreover, my work demonstrated that deficits in angiotensin type 2 receptor expression and/or signalling contributes to pregnancy-induced hypertension and post-menopausal hypertension. Thus, the angiotensin type 2 receptor may represent a novel anti-hypertensive target.

One of my favourite papers is Gant et al. J Clin Invest. 1973.52(11):2682-9. (PMID: 4355997).

This was one of the first studies to demonstrate that pregnant women are resistant to the pressor effects of angiotensin II. In this study, almost twice the concentration of angiotensin II needed to be infused to produce a 20 mmHg increase in blood pressure in normotensive pregnant women as compared to non-pregnant women.

Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, Flowcore, Monash University; Departments of Internal Medicine, Histology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nephrology, Erasmus MC.

My proudest moment to date was winning the Early Career Oral Award Session at the recent AHA Council on Hypertension meeting in San Francisco.

The most challenging situation that I have had to overcome was moving overseas for my post-doc position. It was very scary leaving Monash University, where I had been for my whole tertiary career, and going to work overseas in a new environment. Luckily, we have the best lab, everyone is very nice and helpful and we are working on some great projects so I found my feet in the lab very quickly. Plus, everyone speaks English, which is great because my Dutch is terrible!

My first talk at an international conference was the International Society of Hypertension meeting in 2012. My talk was in a pregnancy session and I did really well but I was so nervous because Professors Joey Granger, Annemarie Hennessy and Eugenie Lumbers were in the audience. I also had a poster at the International Society of Hypertension New Investigator Network Satellite Meeting and I won my first poster prize.

I am attending Scientific Sessions 2017 in November. In 2018, I am planning on attending the European Society of Hypertension and the International Society of Hypertension meetings.

It’s a close call, but Melbourne, Australia to Washington D.C., USA, for the AHA Council on Hypertension in 2015 is the furthest I’ve traveled (16,373 km) to attend a conference!

I am really interested in the fact that preeclampsia uncovers a predisposed risk of developing cardiovascular disease in later life. This is something that I would like to research in the future.

My biggest role models in science are Professors Kate Denton, Jane Reckelhoff and Rhian Touyz. They are three excellent examples of Women in Hypertension who have stellar careers and make significant contributions to their fields of research, which is something that I aspire to.

My scientific goal is to improve cardiovascular health in men and women across their lifespan.

My advice for talented emerging scientists is to find an area of research that you are passionate about, and good mentors.