Dr Sebastian Bass-Stringer named ASSCR 2026 Rising Star

Dr Sebastian Bass-Stringer has been recognised with a 2026 Rising Star Award from the Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research (ASSCR).

Supported by the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia, the award celebrates early-career stem cell scientists who show excellence in research, leadership and advocacy.

Sebastian is a Senior Research Officer in SVI’s Cardiac Regeneration Lab, led by Associate Professor Shiang (Max) Lim. His research explores an important question: why do our hearts weaken as we age, and what can we do about it?

To find answers, Sebastian uses human stem cells to grow tiny pieces of beating heart tissue in the lab, known as cardiac microtissues. These allow him to study how the heart ages and how disease develops in individuals, including people affected by Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare inherited condition that can affect the heart muscle. He is also developing potential treatments that target cellular senescence, a state in which ageing cells stop dividing but linger in the body, releasing signals that can damage the tissue around them.

Sebastian has received several research awards since joining SVI in 2025, including an SVI Rising Star Award and a 2026 Victorian Cardiovascular Research Network Career Development Grant. His research reflects a commitment to advancing human stem cell-based disease modelling and translating fundamental scientific discoveries into more effective therapies for cardiovascular disease.