Dr Nicola Straiton (she/her)

Next week we are running an amazing webinar for early career researchers. If you have not already registered you can do so here: asmr.org.au/cpd-events-wor… It's Free People!

Current global #nursing shortage is 5.8m and the projections only reduce to 4.5m by 2030. We’re simply not doing enough to close the gap. What’s a key missing ingredient? I’d put political will and action right up there.

The inaugural AllClear Research Symposium, hosted at Garvan, brought together over 120 patient advocates, clinicians, surgeons, nurses and researchers to tackle one of the most urgent challenges in breast cancer: disease relapse. Learn more: ow.ly/uxFc50Yw9tG

This is why NICE HF guidance does NOT recommend fluid restriction. Jeepers it’s hard turning that ship around #DoNoHarm

Webinar: Conducting a Study Within A Trial (SWAT) in RCTs – What, why and how with Catherine Arundel, Senior Research Fellow & Assistant CTU Director, York Trials Unit Date: 12th March, 13:00 - 14:00 UTC In collab with @MRCNIHRTMRP Register: universityofgalway-ie.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

NHMRC Investigator Grants out today. A devastating day for many. I have already received messages from some of the best researchers I know who have missed out. The senior levels had a cutoff of 5.93 (females), 6.2 (males) - according to my sources. The impact will be wide spread. The damage being done at the moment to the sector is totally unacceptable. We need to do a lot more to support our research community.

Regular aspirin use and reduced risk of aortic valve calcium and severe aortic stenosis in individuals with elevated lipoprotein(a) levels! ow.ly/l9mW50YljMj #EHJ #cardiotwitter #aspirin #aortic #stenosis #lipoprotein(a) @ESC_journals @escardio

The new CSANZ and ACRA Position Statement on Quality Use of Telehealth in Cardiovascular Care is here Read: bit.ly/heartlung-circ View: bit.ly/TH-release 👏Sally_Inglis @carmel_bourne @Carolyn_Astley @susiecartledge @Jonathan_Rawstorn @hearts4heart #CVD #telehealth

At 4am Australia time the ACC invite all of us to learn more about workplace harassment and how we can prevent it…. The chair is part of our fabulous #SCAI-ELM alumni ❤️❤️‍🩹 be there if you can acc.org/Membership/Sec…

A new @LindAlliance project is calling on everyone with lived or professional experience of women’s heart disease, including patients, carers, family members and healthcare professionals from across the Republic of Ireland and UK to answer the questions that matter most to them so that future research can be targeted specifically at these areas of women’s heart health. Survey: Women's heart health ⬇️ Take part here: lnkd.in/eHi67T_K #WomensHeartHealth #CardiovascularResearch #HealthInequalities

Curiosity as an enabler of change: part two. I got an amazing response to my last post about curiosity. That was the case on X as well as other platforms. The comments sparked such a rich conversation. So I want to share a few of the themes - & some contributions - here.​ Many comments linked curiosity to the quality of listening & attention. As Penny Triantafillou reflected, building a culture of curiosity is closely related to our ability to listen - really listen - so we can ask better questions, which depends on openness to new information & being present (not listening just to respond). That’s the shift I described in the first post: moving from trying to have the "right" answer to staying with “what’s really going on here?” long enough for deeper insight to emerge.​ Others emphasised that curiosity isn’t reserved for moments of crisis or uncertainty. Leona Bishop noted it helps prevent slipping into rigidity & autopilot, keeps attention fresh, supports learning, & invites exploration rather than premature certainty. Curiosity doesn’t delay action - it improves the quality of action - becoming a continuous source of renewal & effectiveness.​ A strong theme was that curiosity & high standards aren’t opposites; they reinforce each other. As Arokia Antonysamy wrote, curiosity increases experimentation & permission to fail safely, learn quickly, & try again — which raises standards over time. Arokia suggested regulators might ask not only “Are you compliant?” but “What experiments have you tried recently — & what did you learn when they didn’t work?” - blending curiosity with accountability in highly regulated systems. There was also a thread about power & emotion. Jack Ricchiuto described the freedom to question as a political act: shifting people from certainties that divide to curiosities that connect. Marrit Dikker Hupkes reminded us that in uncertainty, emotional triggers shape reactions — & that curiosity (with courage) creates space to explore the bigger picture. Reza Hosseini Ghomi, MD, MSE added a neuroscience lens: threat narrows cognition, while curiosity reopens it; shifting from “what’s the answer?” to “what are we missing?” can move teams from defensiveness to shared sense-making.​ Several comments focused on everyday practice. Onifade-Esan Modupeola Bolaji & Suzanne Dixon highlighted designing meetings around questions rather than updates, signalling that exploration is valued over performance theatre. And Bill Powell reminded us curiosity is built in the everyday “little” moments - not big speeches, but how we run the next conversation.​ See this piece on “answer-driven” to “question-driven” leadership by @DrBenLaker: forbes.com/sites/benjamin…. See my graphic for questions — inspired by many of the comments — that may help blend curiosity with accountability.​ Thanks to all who commented. Apologies I couldn't include more of the brilliant contributions. Long may we keep discussing critical issues related to change, especially on X, even when we disagree.

It encouraging to listen to Dr Nicola Straiton, sharing that these challenges are not unique to me. Listen and watch as we discuss some of her post-doc challenges. youtube.com/shorts/wo_oiPu…

Dr @NicStraiton thinks that nurses are sleeping giants that if woken will become strong leaders in research. Check out the comments for the links to the full episode! 🔗 youtube.com/shorts/n0cNG8O… What do you think?

Questions for @NicStraiton? Head to the Youtube video and put your question in the comments to make sure it gets answered. youtu.be/hCR0TVGPDXk

@cvnurselin @AnaFGomesNsp @PCRonline @alcantaramonica @dr_chrisallen @O_Azizy_MD @BenekiEirini @MiChen__ @CurioJonathan @juliendreyfus1 @jcecharte @DrGarot This is so important & takes the whole multidisciplinary team if we want to achieve the best outcomes for patients. Frailty is also a critical factor impacting patients pre/post TAVI but frailty can be reversed or slowed and this is why we are leading the FRAIL-AS Response Trial

Patient selection for TAVI NAP perspective! 🎯patient selection matters 🎯life expectancy 🎯QOL ? What’s the patient want? 🎯Frailty? Futility? @pcronline @alcantaramonica @dr_chrisallen @O_Azizy_MD @BenekiEirini @MiChen__ @CurioJonathan @juliendreyfus1 @jcecharte @DrGarot

In Australia according to tax office data, 2 female cardiologists earn less than one male cardiologist ….ato 2024 We earn 44% each Not much progress It was 55% in 2018

Delighted to report that our ACCELERATE Program (ACCELERATE Trial & ACCELERATE Plus Trial) won the St Vincent’s Health Australia, 2025 St Vincent’s People Award for Enhance Our Impact: Patient and Resident Care. Demonstrating the importance of assessment and communication.

@TCTConference PREVUE trial seminal study of VHD prevalence. Tricuspid regurgitation leads in prevalence inpatients 65-85!! Likely all prevalences an underestimate. @ACCinTouch @escardio

🥸1️⃣1️⃣ Importantly, 24 studies (3.7%) explicitly excluded patients aged ≥75 years, and 66 studies (10.1%)excluded those aged ≥80 years, which creates systematic evidence gaps for the oldest and most vulnerable patients.

In our state-of-the-art review, we outline that across a range of settings, countries & clinical scenarios people with low socioeconomic position are further disadvantaged by sub-optimal provision of guideline recommended care. academic.oup.com/eurheartj/arti…