Prof Markus Schlaich is a renal physician and a European Society of Hypertension (ESH) accredited hypertension specialist. Markus is Chair of Hypertension Australia and Co-Chair of the National Hypertension Taskforce. He has a strong background in clinical research with a focus on the pathophysiology of hypertension, the role of the sympathetic nervous system, involvement of the kidneys, and hypertension mediated organ damage. He has a specific interest in treatment modalities targeting the sympathetic nervous system and has been a pioneer of renal denervation and other interventional and pharmacological approaches to treat hypertension. He has authored more than 500 articles in peer reviewed journals and serves on the Editorial Board of Hypertension, Journal of Hypertension, and Hypertension Research.

Professor Alta (Aletta E) Schutte PhD FESC FRSSAf ISHF is a globally recognised leader in the field of raised blood pressure and hypertension, having conceived and led major research programs in Australia and globally. She’s contributed over 500 publications to the peer literature (>250 in past 5-years), including in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and JAMA. Her work has garnered >159,000 citations, h-index 84 (Google Scholar). Schutte has extensive experience as Chief Investigator in population-based studies and clinical trials with a focus on hypertension. She is a Trustee of the May Measurement Month global blood pressure screening initiative, an invited author of the Lancet Commission of Hypertension, and senior author of the 2020 International Society of Hypertension Global Hypertension Guidelines. In recognition of the innovation and impact of her contributions, Schutte was selected by the Robert Bosch Siftung as a Next Einstein Forum Fellow (2016), and received both a South African Ministerial Award (2017) and the Africa Union Award of Excellence (2019). Most recently, Schutte received the American Heart Association’s Harriet Dustan Award (2022), the World Hypertension League’s Peter Sleight Award of Excellence in Clinical Research (2023), and the International Society of Hypertension’s Outstanding Woman in Hypertension Research Award (2024). In Australia, she received the NHMRC’s Fiona Stanley Award and was ranked by The Australian in 2023 and 2024 as the Leading Scientist in Australia in the field of Vascular Medicine. She is a Fellow of the International Society of Hypertension, the European Society of Cardiology and the Royal Society of South Africa. She currently serves as Associate Editor of Hypertension. She is the Company Secretary of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance, Co-Chair of the National Hypertension Taskforce of Australia, and Past President of the International Society of Hypertension.

Michael is currently Director of the Hypertension Units and of the Endocrine Hypertension Research Centre within the University of Queensland Frazer Institute at Greenslopes and Princess Alexandra Hospitals in Brisbane. He has over 30 years clinical research experience in pathogenesis and management of hypertension and especially of endocrine varieties including primary aldosteronism, renovascular hypertension, pheochromocytoma and familial hyperkalemic hypertension. Working with mentor Richard Gordon, he helped to demonstrate that primary aldosteronism is at least 10 times more common than previously thought, and is the commonest specifically treatable and potentially curable form of hypertension. Subsequent studies have involved determining genetic bases for primary aldosteronism, examining non-blood pressure dependent effects of aldosterone excess, improving methods of detection, diagnostic workup and management of primary aldosteronism, exploring the pathogenesis and genetics of other salt sensitive forms of hypertension (including familial hyperkalemic hypertension) and investigating how dietary potassium lowers blood pressure.