HAEMATOLOGY RESEARCH GROUP

Dr Passam leads a comprehensive bench-to-bedside Haematology and Thrombosis program at the Charles Perkins Centre of the University of Sydney. Dr Passam's  program has two major research directions:

 

The 1st research stream studies platelets in diabetes for the identification of platelet biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. Patients with diabetes have “sticky”, platelets contributing to their higher risk of cardiovascular events compared with patients without diabetes. This research initiative engages clinicians and scientists from 10 research groups in Australia and overseas with diverse expertise (i.e., Cardiology, Endocrinology, Biostatistics) with the common goal of identifying platelet targets for monitoring and reducing cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes.

 

 The 2nd research stream studies immune thrombosis in heparin induced thrombosis thrombocytopenia (HIT) and vaccine induced thrombosis thrombocytopenia (VITT). Thrombotic complications in these patients are challenging to diagnose and treat. This research includes national and international collaborators from Haematology, Chemistry, Bioengineering, and Industry focused on the development of new diagnostic tools based on Microfluidic technology, and novel therapies. As a result of this initiative, our team was awarded the Sydney Nano Challenge in 2021. This was only 1 of 4 cross-disciplinary projects to be awarded by the University of Sydney for tackling major challenges of humanity.