Dr Cheng Hwee Soh is advancing preventative health research and creating stronger connections between emerging researchers.

A family history of heart disease first inspired Emerging Leaders Committee (ELC) Member Dr Soh to pursue health research, eventually leading him to focus on the early identification and prevention of cardiovascular disease.

“I’m all about early identification and prevention of heart disease,” he says.

Dr Soh began his research career as a clinical researcher at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, working with patients undergoing geriatric rehabilitation.

“While I was there, I realised how many people were admitted to the hospital for diseases that are preventable. By that stage, it was often too late for them to fully recover, return to their previous level of function or get back into the community,” he says.

This experience motivated him to undertake a PhD in rehabilitation, with a focus on intervening earlier in the disease process.

“I wanted to do something in the early stages, before an acute condition occurred. We know cardiovascular disease is one of the major contributors to reduced quality of life, so I wanted to focus on preventing that decline before it happened.”

Today, Dr Soh is a Group Leader and Senior Research Officer at the Imaging Laboratory of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute, where his research focuses on detecting cardiovascular disease before symptoms emerge.

“My current major project is about predicting and identifying early subclinical heart disease before any overt heart disease occurs,” he says.

Dr Soh first became aware of the ELC through his organisation, a long-standing institutional member of ACvA. He saw the committee as an opportunity to contribute to a nationwide network and help strengthen connections between emerging and mid-career researchers (EMCRs).

“Individual organisations provide great support for their emerging researchers, but it can be difficult for people to connect beyond their own institutions,” he says.

“After some external collaborations, I realised we can become quite isolated within our own circles. What I’m really hoping to achieve through the ELC is to connect people so we can work together to contribute more effectively to cardiovascular research, while also building stronger networks and collaborations.”

Dr Soh sees ACvA as a key connector within the cardiovascular research community.

“I’d like us to be the matchmakers who help drive connections and networking opportunities for EMCRs. That’s what I’m really hoping we can achieve.”

Looking ahead, Dr Soh is excited by the changing landscape of healthcare and the growing focus on prevention.

“With extended life expectancy, we’re seeing a shift towards a more proactive approach to health, which is what my research is all about. There are more preventative health programs emerging, and people are becoming increasingly engaged in looking after their health earlier.”

“Overall, people’s health awareness has increased, which motivates me to continue doing research that can be translated quickly into clinical practice and make a meaningful impact early on.”