Postdoctoral Research Fellow
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Dr Tatt Jhong Haw

Tatt is a pre-clinical researcher with over nine years’ experience specialising in cardio-oncology and cardiorespiratory health, with a strong academic and commercial track record. His expertise lies in driving complex mechanistic studies using animal models, in vitro cultures and human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes.

A cornerstone of his recent work is the investigation of anti-cancer therapy-induced cardiotoxicity, which has yielded significant translational outcomes, including the discovery of a novel therapeutic now under patent (PCT:AU2024903478). His ability to bridge the gap between benchtop and bedside is further demonstrated by his collaboration with Race Oncology (ASX: RAC), where he managed pre-clinical trials for Zantrene® to mitigate chemotherapy-induced heart failure.

Tatt also has an extensive background in high-level industry engagement. Between 2016 and 2020, he managed over 12 commercial research projects with international pharmaceutical leaders, including Genentech, Allakos and Pharmaxis, resulting in successful therapeutic assessments for COPD and influenza as well as high-impact publications. Now an emerging leader in the Cardiometabolic and Heart Failure research group at HMRI, he has established pioneering particulate matter (PM) exposure models and maintains active international collaborations.

Research interests

  • Cardiorespiratory health
  • Cardio-oncology
  • Inhalable particulate matter
  • Chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity
  • Cardiovascular diseases
  • Respiratory dysfunction

Current projects

  • Investigating the effects of prenatal and early-life exposure to inhalable particulate matter (coal dust, bushfire smoke) and its lifelong impact on cardiorespiratory health
  • Discovering and developing novel cardioprotective therapies to mitigate chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity in cancer patients

Techniques

  • Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from human blood
  • Human cardiomyocytes derived from iPSCs
  • Preclinical models of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity
  • Novel preclinical models of prenatal particulate-matter exposure (bushfire smoke, coal)

Awards & honours

  • Research metrics: an H-index of 20 and over 1,890 citations (Google Scholar) across more than 60 publications
  • Awarded nine competitive grants totalling approximately $1.2M for cardiovascular and respiratory research, including three HERDC Category 1 grants (a TSANZ Boehringer Ingelheim COPD Research Award 2018, $30,000; a Heart Foundation Vanguard Grant 2022, $75,000; and an MRFF Cardiovascular Health Mission grant 2022, $999,998), and most recently a 2026 NSW Ministry of Health Cardiovascular EMCR Grant ($450,000, under embargo)
  • Five publications ranked in the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • Best publication, The American Physiological Society April issue (APSselect) 2024
  • Heart, Lung and Circulation Best Basic Cardiovascular Science Award (2025), 73rd CSANZ Annual Scientific Meeting
A Croft, C Kelly, D Chen, P Francis, TJ Haw et al. Elucidating sex-based differences in cancer-induced cardiac cachexia. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology Plus 15, 100675 . SJR: 0.76 ; #Cited: New Publication Conagh Kelly, Dylan J Kiltschewskij, Angeline JW Leong, Tatt Jhong Haw et al. Identifying common pathways for doxorubicin and carfilzomib-induced cardiotoxicities: transcriptomic and epigenetic profiling. Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 5;15(1):4395. doi : 10.1038/s41598-025-87442-5. SJR: 1.53; #Cited: 9 Dongqing Chen, Amanda J Croft, Tatt Jhong Haw et al. Anti-cancer agent Olaparib ameliorates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. J Mol Cell Cardiol . 2025 Sep:206:114 -126. doi : 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2025.07.015. Epub 2025 Jul 23. SJR: 2.56; #Cited: 4 Gang Liu, Alan C Hsu, Silke Geirnaert, Christine Cong, Prema M Nair, Sj Sijie Shen, Jacqueline Marshall, Tatt Jhong Haw et al. Vitronectin regulates lung tissue remodeling and emphysema in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Mol Ther. 2025 Mar 5;33(3):917-932. doi : 10.1016/j.ymthe.2025.01.032. Epub 2025 Jan 21.SJR: 3.14; #Cited: 5 Wael Awad, Jemma R Mayall 2, Weijun Xu, Matt D Johansen, Timothy Patton, Xin Yi Lim, Izabela Galvao, Lauren J Howson, Alexandra C Brown, Tatt Jhong Haw et al. Cigarette smoke components modulate the MR1–MAIT axis. J Exp Med. 2025 Jan 17;222(2 ):e 20240896. SJR: 8.62; #Cited: 15 Leitch Victoria, Haw Tatt Jhong , Gomez Henry, Horvat Jay, Ngo Doan. New Way to Study the Effect of Bushfire Smoke on Cardiorespiratory Health. 33(12):1 page Article number ARTN 1699 Dec 2024. SJR: 0.6; #Cited: Short Commentary Henry M Gomez, Tatt J Haw et al. Landscape fire smoke airway exposure impairs respiratory and cardiac function and worsens experimental asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2024 Jul;154(1):209-221.e6. SJR: 5.05; #Cited: 9 Amanda J Croft, Conagh Kelly, Dongqing Chen, Tatt Jhong Haw et al. Sex-based differences in short- and longer-term diet-induced metabolic heart disease. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2024 May 1;326(5):H1219-H1251. SJR: 1.61; #Cited: 11 Lohis Balachandran, Tatt Jhong Haw et al. Cancer Therapies and Cardiomyocyte Viability: Which Drugs are Directly Cardiotoxic? Heart Lung Circ. 2024 May;33(5):747-752. SJR: 0.6; #Cited: 20 Kurtis F Budden, Shakti D Shukla, Kate L Bowerman, Annalicia Vaughan, Shaan L Gellatly, David L A Wood, Nancy Lachner, Sobia Idrees, Saima Firdous Rehman, Alen Faiz, Vyoma K Patel, Chantal Donovan, Charlotte A Alemao, Sj Shen, Nadia Amorim, Rajib Majumder, Kanth S Vanka, Jazz Mason, Tatt Jhong Haw et al. Faecal microbial transfer and complex carbohydrates mediate protection against COPD. Gut. 2024 Apr 5;73(5):751-769. SJR: 7.44; #Cited: 63 Gang Liu*, Tatt Jhong Haw *, Malcolm Starkey* et al. TLR7 promotes smoke-induced experimental lung damage through the activity of mast cell tryptase. Nature Communications 14(1) 01 Dec 2023. SJR: 6.58; #Cited: 23 Amanda J Croft, Conagh Kelly, Dongqing Chen, Tatt Jhong Haw et al. Overexpression of Mitochondrial Catalase within Adipose Tissue Does Not Confer Systemic Metabolic Protection against Diet-Induced Obesity. Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 May 22;12(5):1137. SJR: 0.85; #Cited: 8 Butel-Simoes LE*, Haw TJ *, Williams T* et al. Established and Emerging Cancer Therapies and Cardiovascular System: Focus on Hypertension-Mechanisms and Mitigation. Hypertension. 2023 Feb 9. An invited review to outline of management strategies and lifestyle interventions aimed to facilitate early detection and timely management of hypertension in patients with cancer and survivors. SJR: 3.8; #Cited: 24 Grace E Cooper, Jemma Mayall, Chantal Donovan, Tatt J Haw et al. Antiviral Responses of Tissue-resident CD49a+ Lung Natural Killer Cells Are Dysregulated in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Mar 1;207(5):553-565. SJR: 5.94; #Cited: 19 Xiaofan Tu, Richard Y Kim, Alexandra C Brown, Emma de Jong, Bernadette Jones-Freeman, Md Khadem Ali, Henry M Gomez, Kurtis F Budden, Malcolm R Starkey, Guy J M Cameron, Svenja Loering, Duc H Nguyen, Prema Mono Nair, Tatt Jhong Haw et al. Airway and parenchymal transcriptomics in a novel model of asthma and COPD overlap. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022 Oct;150(4):817-829.e6. SJR: 5.05; #Cited: 21 Kim R, Sunkara K, Bracke K, Jarnicki A, Donovan C, Hsu AC, Leni A, Beckett E, Galvão I, Wijnant S, Ricciardolo FL, Stefano AD, Haw TJ et al. A microRNA-21-mediated SATB1/S100A9/NF-κB axis promotes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pathogenesis. Sci Transl Med. 24 Nov 2021;13(621 ):eaav 7223. SJR: 9.7; #Cited: 119 Chen D*, Kelly C*, Haw TJ* et al. Heart Failure in Breast Cancer Survivors: Focus on Early Detection and Novel Biomarkers. Curr Heart Fail Rep 2021 Dec;18(6):362-377. SJR: 1.47; #Cited: 8 Skerrett-Byrne D, Bromfield E, Murray H, Jamaluddin MFB, Jarnicki A, Fricker M, Essilfie A, Jones B, Haw TJ et al. Time-resolved proteomic profiling of cigarette smoke-induced experimental chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Respirology 26 Oct 2021;26(10):960-973. SJR: 1.68; #Cited: 40 Julia Schanin, Simon Gebremeskel, Wouter Korver, Rustom Falahati, Melina Butuci, Tatt Jhong Haw et al . A monoclonal antibody to Siglec-8 suppresses non-allergic airway inflammation and inhibits IgE-independent mast cell activation. Mucosal Immunol. 2021 Mar;14(2):366-376. doi : 10.1038/s41385-020-00336-9. SJR: 4.31; #Cited: 82 Other profile links: UoN Profile: https://www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/tattjhong-haw LinkedIN: www.linkedin.com/in/tattjhonghaw ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2315-7089 Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=T0zP-9YAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate