Greek-Australian Associate Professor Peter Psaltis was awarded the Marshall and Warren Innovation Award for his work in defining a new player in atherosclerosis: the role of Adventitial Haemangioblasts as an “outside-in” driver of plaque growth and stability.
The academic interventional cardiologist, who holds National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Career Development and National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowships, is also co-leader of the Lifelong Health theme and Leader of the Heart and Vascular Program at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and Head of Acute and Interventional Coronary Services at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
“I am extremely honoured and proud to receive the 2020 NHMRC Marshall and Warren Innovation Award. It is a humbling recognition of the work that my team has done, and continues to do, in pursuing new treatment approaches to tackle atherosclerosis, which is the disease that causes hardening of the arteries and, in turn, heart attack and stroke, two of the leading causes of death and suffering around the world,” Assoc Prof Psaltis told Neos Kosmos after receiving his award in a ceremony held in Canberra last month.
Assoc Prof Psaltis’ project studies a new population of stem cells that his team discovered in the outer layer of arteries that can form both inflammatory cells (macrophages) and endothelial cells. His team is investigating how these unique stem cells contribute to plaque growth and instability to develop new therapies that will treat atherosclerosis more effectively.
“This particular award relates to our discovery of a unique type of stem cell in the wall of arteries. Our NHMRC grant will study how these stem cells cause atherosclerotic plaques to form in arteries, so that we can target them with new treatments for heart and vascular disease. I am especially grateful for the outstanding efforts that my group members have already contributed to this project, in particular University of Adelaide PhD student, Anna Williamson, and for the support of my collaborators from both Adelaide and interstate,” Assoc Prof Psaltis explained.
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His bench-to-bedside research focuses on the developmental origins of tissue macrophages and endothelial cells, molecular and pharmacological regulation of atherosclerosis and the applications of stem cells in cardiovascular therapeutics.
Son of migrants from Chios, Asia Minor and the Peloponnese
The 45-year-old associate professor is the son of Dr Jim Psaltis, whose father migrated to Australia from Sinope in 1923. His father was one of the first Greek general practitioners (GPs) in South Australia, and in his 50-plus-year career as a doctor he looked after thousands of Greek migrants who couldn’t speak English. He retired one-and-a-half years ago after 53 years of service to the community.
The doctor met his the associate professor’s mother, Lela Theodoropoulos, after she migrated with her parents to Australia in 1953 from Meligala (Kalamata). Ms Theodoropoulos worked as a school teacher in Torrensville, during the 1960s. She taught many Greek-Australian students how to read and write in English. After her two sons, Peter and Alkis were born, she dedicated her life to her family.
“I am very proud of my parents and everything they have achieved in their lives,” the associate professor said.
“My mother and father instilled in my brother and I the right values, as well as the importance of family and hard work. To this day, I see a lot of my father’s patients out in the community, and I get told again and again that there is no other doctor in Adelaide like him. He poured his heart and soul into serving the community for 53 years with a lot of support from my mother. The two of them raised us to serve and encouraged us to aim high, but keep our feet on the ground.”
By the time he decided to move to the United States to further his career in 2007, Assoc Prof Psaltis was already married and a father of three young children.
The high-achieving cardiologist trained in laboratories and clinics in Miami and Texas . In October 2009 he moved to Minnesota to continue his research career and complete his post-doctorate at the Mayo Clinic, the world’s largest hospital that employs 55,000 people.
After spending three years at the Mayo Clinic doing research and cell work, he was awarded the American Heart Association Early Career Award.
The Psaltis family relocated to Australia at the end of 2012.
They settled in Melbourne where Assoc Prof Psaltis spent two years working in the cardiology department at Monash Hospital.
“Monash is arguably the busiest hospital in Australia when it comes to managing heart-attack patients, so it was certainly a great experience for me,” he said. Although he was offered the opportunity to stay at Monash longer, he decided it was time to return to Adelaide.
At the end of 2014, Assoc Prof Psaltis secured his first NHMRC grant and returned to Adelaide at a time when the SAHMRI was getting established.
Today, the father of four, who was the first South Australian to represent his state at the Chemistry Olympiad, holds three appointments and is considered one the best scientists and cardiologists of his generation in Australia.
Despite all his achievements, the President of the Australian Atherosclerosis Society remains humble and focused on his research work and his cardio clinic.
No secret to success, just hard work
“There is no secret to success. I am probably the world’s greatest perfectionist and that comes with a blessing and a curse because that means that no one is harder on me than myself,” he said.
“I am a workaholic that works 24/7 but I enjoy my work and I couldn’t give up what I do. I enjoy my research as it is extremely stimulating and gives us the opportunity to discover things that nobody else has and helping people and building relationships with my patients and the community is also priceless. I wouldn’t advise my work-life balance to other people, but it works with me and my personality. I wouldn’t change any of it. You do what you do in life not for the reward; reward doesn’t interest me. Excellence and giving back to the community are my biggest motivators. To me, being intelligent is being interested and being interesting. It’s about being switched on and finding things to stimulate your brain all the time,” Assoc Prof Psaltis said.
The importance of family
The cardiologist met his wife Maria Tsiounis – also a scientist – at an Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS) lab in 1999 in Adelaide.
He says that from the moment he met her, he knew that this was the woman for him. They have four children: 18-year-old medical student Jimmy, 16-year-old Lela, 14-year-old Lambrini, and six-year-old Kostia.
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“Maria is a very effective and efficient person who ensures we spend quality time together as a family. We all support each other, and we are blessed to also have great grandparents in our children’s lives. All we wish is for the children to be healthy and happy. We do remind them that there is more to life than just grades and work, but also encourage excellence. We tell our children to be honest and kind to themselves and others and to strive for the best, but only receive what they have worked hard for and truly deserve.
“Above all, we teach them to be good people,” he said.