Enzo Porrello

Professor Porrello is the Theme Director of Stem Cell Biology and Head of the Heart Regeneration Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. He also directs the Melbourne Node of the recently established Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW) and he is the founding Co-Director of the Melbourne Centre for Cardiovascular Genomics and Regenerative Medicine (CardioRegen). Prof Porrello’s research focuses on the development of regenerative therapies for children and adults with heart failure. Over the course of his career, he has made important contributions to the understanding of mammalian heart regeneration and has pioneered the development of human organoids for drug discovery. Prof Porrello is a co-founder of Dynomics, a biotechnology company focused on the development of new heart failure treatments using organoid technologies.

After completing his PhD in Physiology at The University of Melbourne, Prof Porrello was awarded an NHMRC/NHF C.J. Martin Fellowship to undertake postdoctoral training in Prof Eric Olson's laboratory at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, USA. Upon returning to Australia in 2012, Dr Porrello established the Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory at The University of Queensland, which he co-headed together with Dr James Hudson from 2013-2017. Dr Porrello maintains strong links to The University of Queensland where he holds an honorary appointment as an Associate Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences.