Member Spotlight: Lakshini Herat
What inspired your interest in Hypertension?
My path to hypertension research was somewhat serendipitous! I joined the Dobney Hypertension Centre (DHC) as a casual research assistant during a hectic period in my life, when I was caring for a newborn and completing my PhD thesis. During this time, I learnt a lot about hypertension and became interested in both the clinical and pre-clinical research carried out to better understand complex hypertension and develop ways to improve outcomes for patients at high risk of heart and kidney damage.
On a personal level, this work also means a lot to me. My father passed away at a young age from a heart attack. He had hypertension along with other cardiovascular comorbidities. Back then I knew very little about heart disease or medical research, but working in this field has helped me understand the real-world impact our research can have on individuals and families. My work also allows me to honour my father’s memory. Many of my remaining family members have high blood pressure and heart disease, so it continues to motivate me to contribute, in big or small ways, to better outcomes for families like mine and for many others.
Tell us about your research or initiatives focused on preventing, detecting, and managing high blood pressure and its complications.
My research program focuses on targeting one of the key drivers of hypertension, metabolic dysfunction and cardiovascular disease; the sympathetic nervous system, to prevent end-organ damage. A key focus of our work is the development and use of pre-clinical models of hypertension driven by high sympathetic nervous system activity and obesity that closely mimic the human cardiometabolic disease phenotype. Using these models, we investigate how emerging pharmacotherapies and surgical interventions targeting the SNS can improve cardiometabolic health and reduce the progression of heart and kidney disease.
Seeing Hypertension Through a Gut pH–Immune Lens
Have you received any awards, grants, or publications for your work related to Hypertension?
Awards
- American Journal of Physiology – Renal, ECR Editorial Fellowship Award – 2025
- Western Australian Cardiovascular Research Alliance, Research Impact Award – 2023
- Inaugural Professor Lyn Beazley AO Emerging Leader Award – 2023
- UWA School of Biomedical Sciences Early-Career Research Award – 2023
Fellowships
- National Heart Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2025-2027)
- RPH Research Foundation Early Career Research Fellowship (2021-2024)
Grants
- WA Near Miss Award – 2026
- WA Near Miss Award – 2025
- RPH Research Foundation Seeding Grant – 2024
- Hypertension Australia ECR Transition Grant – 2023
- Diabetes Research WA Grant – 2023
- Raine Priming Grant – 2020
- Diabetes Research WA Grant – 2020
- Diabetes Australia Research Project Grant – 2020
- RPH Medical Research Foundation Grant – 2018
Publications
- Herat, L. Y., Matthews, J. R., Hibbs, M., Rakoczy, E. P., Schlaich, M. P., & Matthews, V. B. (2023). SGLT1/2 inhibition improves glycemic control and multi-organ protection in type 1 diabetes. iScience, 26(8), 107260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107260
- Herat, L. Y., Matthews, J. R., Rakoczy, E. P., Schlaich, M. P., & Matthews, V. B. (2023). Comparing and Contrasting the Effects of the SGLT Inhibitors Canagliflozin and Empagliflozin on the Progression of Retinopathy. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed), 28(4), 83. https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2804083
- Herat, L. Y., Matthews, J. R., Ong, W. E., Rakoczy, E. P., Schlaich, M. P., & Matthews, V. B. (2022). Determining the Role of SGLT2 Inhibition with Dapagliflozin in the Development of Diabetic Retinopathy. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed), 27(12), 321. https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2712321
- Matthews, J. R., Schlaich, M. P., Rakoczy, E. P., Matthews, V. B., & Herat, L. Y. (2022). The Effect of SGLT2 Inhibition on Diabetic Kidney Disease in a Model of Diabetic Retinopathy. Biomedicines, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10030522
- Kannenkeril, D., Nolde, J. M., Kiuchi, M. G., Carnagarin, R., Lugo-Gavidia, L. M., Chan, J., Joyson, A., Jose, A., Robinson, S., Matthews, V. B., Herat, L. Y., Azzam, O., Frost, S., & Schlaich, M. P. (2022). Retinal Capillary Damage Is Already Evident in Patients With Hypertension and Prediabetes and Associated With HbA1c Levels in the Nondiabetic Range. Diabetes Care, 45(6), 1472-1475. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-1569
- Matthews, J.,* Herat, L.,* Rooney, J., Rakoczy, E., Schlaich, M., & Matthews, V. B. (2022). Determining the role of SGLT2 inhibition with Empagliflozin in the development of diabetic retinopathy. Biosci Rep, 42(3). https://doi.org/10.1042/BSR20212209 * Equal contribution.
- Herat, L. Y., Ward, N. C., Magno, A. L., Rakoczy, E. P., Kiuchi, M. G., Schlaich, M. P., & Matthews, V. B. (2020). Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibition reduces succinate levels in diabetic mice. World J Gastroenterol, 26(23), 3225-3235. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v26.i23.3225
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love all things food; shopping, cooking and eating! I enjoy a good excersise sessions with my fit-fam at the gym. I also enjoy going for a nice hike or a walk with friends and family.
Do you have any travel adventures or bucket list destinations you're hoping to experience?
There are too many places in my bucket list !!! For now, I am looking forward to and planning to go back to Sri Lanak for a visit after 9 years. Seeing my family and childhood friends is a bucket list tick for now.
What's the last great book you read, movie you saw, or show you watched?
I really like real life stories.
Books
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- Penguin Bloom: The Odd Little Bird Who Saved a Family by Cameron Bloom, Bradley Trevor Greive
Documentary Movies
- Thirteen Lives (2022)
- The Deepest Breath (2023)