Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute

07/08/2025

Heart disease, diabetes and obesity - we know they’re strongly linked - and together, they form the world’s biggest health challenges. That’s why we’re laser focussed on them to transform the healthcare landscape.

Take the Institute’s work in type 1 diabetes. Our scientists recently showed how a phone app acting as an artificial pancreas for adults with type 1 diabetes improved blood sugar levels, eliminating the need for manual insulin dosing.

Read more about our innovative research in our newly released 2024 Impact Report, Building Momentum: https://baker.edu.au/impact/impact-report

06/08/2025

Your health is important to us.

That’s why we pride ourselves on providing evidence-based health information.

We have clinicians, researchers, diabetes educators, dietitians, nurses, exercise physiologists and physical activity experts all working together to ensure the latest research and technology informs health information and treatment.

We know that when you’re bombarded with health content online, it can be hard to work out who to trust.

That’s why it’s important to be aware that in recent months, scammers have been using AI to create fake videos of trusted doctors, including those who work at the Baker Institute, to promote ‘miracle cures’ for conditions like diabetes.

Watch out for videos that promote unproven supplements, encourage you to stop taking prescribed medications or make claims that sound too good to be true.

If you’re unsure about something that you’ve seen online that relates to the Baker Institute, you can check with your GP. You can also:

➡️ Call us on 03 8532 1111
➡️ Email us reception@baker.edu.au
➡️ Visit our website at https://baker.edu.au/scam-alert

06/08/2025

This US-led study, published in the journal Circulation, showed that post-menopausal women experiencing overweight or obesity who engaged in the simple daily habit of standing up more improved their .🪑▶️🧍‍♀️

We're pleased to be part of this important research with our colleagues at UC San Diego.

This research highlights that focusing on increasing sit to stand transitions may be an achievable behavioral target to reduce heart disease risk in postmenopausal women❤️, even without increasing intense exercise.

Heart Foundation

The simple daily habit of standing up more often may impact heart health for postmenopausal women, according to a new study from University of California San Diego.

05/08/2025

Kegan Moneghetti, Clinical Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow, recently gave us the lowdown on the dangers of high cholesterol and how to effectively lower it on ABC Radio’s Health segment with Brigitte Duclos.

Your doctor might talk to you about whether you have high ‘bad’ cholesterol versus ‘good’ cholesterol. This is like a big fluffy toy blocking the blood vessels rather than marbles rolling along your blood vessels. When bad cholesterol is too high, it’s deposited in the walls of the arteries and over time, can make them too narrow. This can cause heart attacks, strokes or leg artery disease.

Know your numbers. Cholesterol checks are recommended if someone in the family has had a heart attack or stroke, when diabetes is suspected or diagnosed, and when you turn 45. Speak to your GP about checking your cholesterol as part of a Heart Health Check.

Listen in from 1:44:30 to find out how to better manage your cholesterol. And remember we can provide support through our cardiologists, dietitians, diabetes clinics and broader allied health team. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/melbourne-afternoons/afternoons/105544114

04/08/2025

We’re delighted to announce that world-renowned diabetes clinician researcher, Professor David O’Neal has joined the Institute.

Professor O’Neal will establish the Diabetes Technologies lab, and he is also providing endocrinology services through our diabetes clinics.

A powerhouse in the diabetes space, Professor O’Neal’s appointment will enhance our growing profile in diabetes technology research, particularly with regards type 1 diabetes.

Professor O’Neal is the Director and founder of the Diabetes Technology Research Group based at the University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne.

⭐Bio here: https://www.baker.edu.au/health-hub/clinics/staff/david-oneal

https://baker.edu.au/news/media-releases/world-renowned-diabetes-expert-appointed

We’re delighted to announce that world-renowned diabetes clinician researcher, Professor David O’Neal has joined the Institute to establish the Diabetes Technologies lab.

02/08/2025

It was our pleasure to host Professor Matthew Buman from Arizona State University and ASU College of Health Solutions this week to talk all things digital health technology, including how it's being harnessed to address real-world health challenges and delivery of precise and equitable interventions. 📱🏃🥗

We know Prof Buman's familiar with our city so we were delighted to welcome him back again, and to enjoy some chilly Melbourne weather🥶!

Thanks for reinforcing the need to build systems to translate data into knowledge.

Also pleased to get an insight into the innovative tools being developed in the US by some of the world's leading academic and healthcare organisations alongside major tech companies to tackle global health challenges like heart disease and diabetes.

Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition

01/08/2025

With a shared love of healthy food and lifestyle, we were chuffed to welcome renowned chef and TV personality, Gary Mehigan, as an ambassador for our Institute earlier this.

As well as looking to solve the biggest health challenges in heart disease, diabetes and obesity, we're also highly active in the prevention space. Did you know we’re home to hundreds of scientists, clinicians, data scientists, physical activity experts, dietitians and diabetes educators who are all working together to improve health? 👩‍🔬 👨‍⚕️ 🏃

Gary has been helping to share our evidence-based health information with the wider community.

And when it comes to food, we're all for quick, healthy meals. So, to help provide that extra culinary inspiration, Gary has been producing some healthy recipes which you can find here https://baker.edu.au/health-hub/recipes

⭐We're releasing a recipe every month, with our next recipe to drop in a few weeks...

31/07/2025

Our latest paper in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, shows that if intensive lifestyle intervention can’t be offered to all people with type 2 diabetes, then more research is needed to identify the most effective selection criteria.

While intensive lifestyle intervention programs aimed at achieving remission of type 2 diabetes have gained popularity in recent years, they tend only to be offered to patients considered to have the best hope of diabetes remission, which usually restricts their availability to those with a short duration of diabetes and who are not on insulin.

But our analysis shows that people who have lived with diabetes for a long time can also obtain substantial benefits from intensive lifestyle programs. These findings indicate that we need to think carefully before establishing intensive lifestyle intervention programs that are restricted to those people who have only had type 2 diabetes for a short period of time.

Read more at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40707395/

27/07/2025

Need some healthy food inspiration?

Chef and TV personality, Gary Mehigan, has done the hard work for you!

He suggests a beautiful, soft white fish, gently cooked and served with a nutty yoghurt and tahini dressing, toasted almonds and tender roasted zucchini.

It's fresh, light, tasty and surprisingly easy. And our dietitians also give it the nod of approval!

Check out the free recipe here https://www.baker.edu.au/health-hub/recipes/baked-snapper-gary-mehigan

25/07/2025

As covered in 9 News, Medibank's Heart Health at Home is enabling more people to access cardiac rehabilitation. Cardiac rehabilitation can save lives by reducing risks and improving quality of life. It can also greatly reduce hospital readmissions. Yet many barriers prevent people from accessing face to face programs so when no virtual program is available, lots of patients miss out.

Our Head of Community Prevention and Cardiac Research, Associate Professor Melinda Carrington, explained, “Our analysis showed improvements across nearly all clinical, behavioural and lifestyle risk factors. Participants recorded a 71% reduction in hospital readmission days within 3 months, compared to a natural sample of patients who were eligible for cardiac rehabilitation but unlikely participated in rehabilitation. This gives us confidence that digital health with nurse coordinated care can play a major role in managing chronic disease.”

We hope more people can access cardiac rehabilitation of some form in future.

A virtual 'heart health at home' rehab program has slashed the number of patients returning to hospital after a cardiac event. | *Subscribe and 🔔: http://9S...

25/07/2025

Scammers are using AI to create fake videos of trusted doctors, including those who work at the Baker Institute, to promote ‘miracle cures’ for conditions like diabetes.

These scams don’t just put your money at risk — they endanger lives by encouraging people to abandon evidence-based treatments.
Watch out for videos that promote unproven supplements, encourage you to stop taking prescribed medications or make claims that sound too good to be true.

Your health is important to us.

If you’re unsure about something you’ve seen online that relates to the Baker Institute, please contact us to verify information before you take any action.

➡️Call us on (03) 8532 1111
➡️Email us reception@baker.edu.au
➡️Visit our website at https://baker.edu.au/scamalert