Skip to main
This is Ms. Priscilla Prestes expert profile image

Ms. Priscilla Prestes

Centre Research Fellow

Contact

Campus

Mt Helen Campus

Biography

Dr. Priscilla Prestes is an early career research fellow at the Health Innovation and Transformation Centre. She is an emerging leader in cardiovascular genomics with an interest in genetics of hypertension and lifestyle interventions to prevent and decrease the burden of the disease.

Priscilla is the chair of the Membership Committee of the International Society of Hypertension, co-chair of the Early Career Investigator (ECI) Committee of the International Society of Heart Research, committee member of Hypertension Australia ECI and former member of the College of Experts of the International Society of Hypertension. 

Fields of research

  • Genetics
  • Cardiology (incl. cardiovascular diseases)
Is this your profile? Submit an update

More about Priscilla

Qualifications

  • PhD in Biomedical Sciences, Federation University 
  • Master of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)  
  • Bachelor of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) 

Areas of interest

  • Cardiovascular disease 
  • Hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy 
  • Genetics, epigenetics, multi-omics 
  • Lifestyle interventions in hypertension 
  • Community health programs 
  • Patient education and behaviour change 

Areas of expertise

Dr. Prestes is a cardiovascular genomics researcher specialising in the genetic and molecular mechanisms of hypertension and heart disease. Her research has a strong focus on translating genomic discoveries into prevention and treatment strategies. She co-led an international recommendations article on lifestyle guidelines to manage hypertension. 

Grants

  • Victoria Fellowship, 2020. ($50,000) 

Awards

  • 2025: International Society of Heart Research Early Career Researcher Excellence Award 
  • 2021: Hypertension Australia Early Career Investigator 
  • 2020: International Society of Hypertension New Investigator Award 

Current

  • PhD student, Federation University, ‘The role of circular RNAs in hypertension’, supervisor. 
  • PhD student, Federation University, ‘Omics profiling in cross-ancestry cardiovascular disease prediction and predictive utility of polygenic risk scores in Australian populations’, co-supervisor. 
  • PhD student, Federation University, ‘Autism and chronic diseases: Why are mothers of autistics dying young?’, co-supervisor. 
  • PhD student, Federation University, ‘Effect of alpha-2 receptor agonists on atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice’, co-supervisor. 

Specialist roles

  • Editorial board of Heart, Lung and Circulation 

Professional association memberships

  • International Society of Heart Research 
  • International Society of Hypertension 
  • Hypertension Australia 
  • Australian Cardiovascular Alliance 
  • Victorian Heart Institute 

Health Innovation and Transformation Centre

Priscilla is part of the Health Innovation and Transformation Centre, which aims to answer complex global healthcare questions that impact the health and wellbeing of our regional, national and international communities.
  • Publications

Shorter kidney telomeres are associated with nephrosclerosis by an epigenetic signature