Dr Monique Bax

Monique Bax is a Senior Post Doctoral Scientist at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Sydney. Dr Bax researches the major cause of myocardial infarcts in women under 50 (known as Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissections, or 'SCAD'). She generates induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients’ blood cells. Using these stem cells, Dr Bax differentiates arterial cells in both 2D and 3D cultures, and uses proteomics, and other molecular techniques to study the biochemical pathways, to identify drug targets to prevent SCAD recurrence. She is passionate about the vascular extracellular matrix, and understanding the role of diversity in sex, age, and ethnicity, in molecular biology.

Dr Bax has previously worked in neurodegenerative research, using iPSCs-derived neurons to understand the role of the ubiquitin proteasome system in motor neurone disease, and neuronal development. She was awarded her PhD in this field in November 2019, under the supervision of Prof Lezanne Ooi, and the late Prof Justin Yerbury, from the University of Wollongong.

Dr Bax is a current member of the CVMM EMCR Committee at UNSW, and serves as Secretary for the St Vincent's Research Precinct Post Doctoral Development Committee. She is a member of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), the Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research (ASSCR), the NSW Cardiovascular Research Network, and the Matrix Biology Society of Australia and New Zealand. She was named an AMP Tomorrowmaker (2020), and has been successful in securing multiple competitive grants to undertake her research. She frequently engages in public outreach for STEM education, and is open to mentoring students who are passionate about research.