The Heart Research Institute

What The Heart Research Institute does

The Heart Research Institute (HRI) is an Australian independent, non-profit medical research institute founded on 17 March 1989 in Sydney as New South Wales's first medical research institute dedicated to cardiovascular disease detection, prevention, and treatment. Founded by cardiologists including David Richmond within the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, HRI employs 190+ personnel across 14 scientific groups at its Eliza Street, Newtown headquarters (opened 2009) and Charles Perkins Centre research labs (established 2015). The institute conducts research into atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and peripheral artery disease across specialized groups covering heart muscle, vascular remodelling, clinical research, lipidomics, microvascular research, heart rhythm and stroke prevention, cardiovascular regeneration, and coronary diseases.

HRI's core technology platforms include the Artery-on-Chip stroke risk prediction model, 3D bioprinted mini-hearts (cardiac organoids the size of a grain of sand) for drug testing, Australia's first Fluxomics Centre for personalized cellular analysis, AF facial screening camera technology, wearable AF detection devices, and the Australian New Zealand Congenital Heart Disease Registry. The institute also maintains research collaborations with University of Technology Sydney (Carmine Gentile's mini-heart laboratory), Chris O'Brien Lifehouse (cardio-oncology), and the University of Sydney (SAFER-AUS clinical trial), producing 119 peer-reviewed publications in 2025 with 800+ international collaborations across 44 countries.

HRI operates as a registered Australian charity (ABN 41 003 209 952) and does not charge for research services. Revenue is generated through donations (38,763 donors and supporters as of 2025, with regular monthly gifts, one-time donations, major/transformative gifts, and legacy bequests), competitive research grants including the $150 million NSW Cardiovascular Disease Research Capacity Building Program (2018), and strategic research partnerships. The institute engages donors through Heart to Heart Seminars, Medical Research Giving Day, lab tours, personal stories content, the Heartbeat newsletter, and earned media coverage, while distributing research outputs via clinical trial partnerships, peer-reviewed publications, and public health advocacy.

Name

The Heart Research Institute

Legal name

The Heart Research Institute

Website

https://hri.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Heart Research Institute is an Australian independent non-profit medical research institute founded in 1989 that conducts cardiovascular disease research across 14 scientific groups, employing 190+ personnel in Sydney with funding from donations, grants, and hospital and university partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cardiovascular Medical Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Hemodynamic Monitoring & Cardiac Diagnostics (Cath Lab, FFR/IVUS/OCT) (HLAHAFAI)

Keywords

• Cardiovascular disease research
• Medical research institute
• Cardiac diagnostics
• Translational medicine
• Clinical cardiology research

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropy: HRI receives donations from individual supporters including regular monthly gifts, major one-time donations, and legacy bequests. The organization had 38,763 donors & supporters as of 2025.
2. Research Grants: HRI receives government and institutional research grants including the $150 million Cardiovascular Disease Research Capacity Building Program backed by the NSW government in 2018. Researchers also receive individual grants such as the $3 million grant for menopause heart disease research and $1.6M in other researcher grants.
3. Partnerships and Collaborations: Collaborations with universities, hospitals, and international research institutions provide funding and resources for joint research initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Heart Research Institute (HRI) is an Australian non-profit medical research institute that conducts cutting-edge cardiovascular disease research across 14 scientific groups. It develops proprietary research technologies including mini-hearts (3D bioprinted cardiac organoids), artery-on-chip platforms, AF screening cameras, and operates Australia's first Fluxomics Centre. HRI partners with hospitals and universities for clinical trials and translates discoveries into diagnostic tools and treatments for cardiovascular disease.

Product overview

The Heart Research Institute (HRI) is an Australian medical research institute focused on cardiovascular disease research. The organization operates as a research institute offering cardiovascular research programs, specialized research groups (Heart Muscle, Atherosclerosis, Clinical Research, Cardio-Metabolic Lipidology, Microvascular Research, Heart Rhythm and Stroke Prevention, Cardiovascular Regeneration, Coronary Diseases), and core facilities including Australia's first Fluxomics Centre. Key research technologies include mini-hearts (lab-grown 3D cardiac organoids), 3D bioprinting, artery-on-chip platforms, AF facial screening cameras, and wearable AF detection technology. HRI also provides health education content, virtual lab tours, and accepts donations through various giving programs. The institute partners with universities and hospitals for research collaboration and uses Box for content management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cardiovascular Disease Research Programs
• Fluxomics Centre Research Services
• Donation and Giving Programs
• Health Information and Education Resources Educational resources covering cardiovascular health, heart disease, nutrition, lifestyle, and recipes for the general public. Includes virtual lab tours of HRI's world-class research facilities at Eliza Street. Targeted at the general public seeking to understand and prevent cardiovascular disease.
• Australian New Zealand Congenital Heart Disease Registry

Quantifiable outcome

• Research demonstrates that 3D vascular shape and local flow disturbances are more important than arterial narrowing for stroke risk prediction
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and major.

• Sax InstitutestrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026HRI joined the Sax Institute as a member, likely providing access to research networks and collaborative opportunities in public health research.
• Box, Inc.coreTechnology or Integration · 8 December 2025HRI selected Box's Enterprise Advanced plan as its intelligent content management platform. The partnership enables HRI to centralize and secure research content, deploy AI-powered tools for data analysis, and streamline researcher onboarding and recruitment workflows while maintaining compliance with international standards.
• University of SydneycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 1989Founding partner providing supportive environment for HRI since 1989. The partnership allows scientists to be inspired by challenges encountered at the patient's bedside while accessing multidisciplinary capabilities of a major university. HRI also established research labs at the Charles Perkins Centre in 2015.
• Royal Prince Alfred HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 1989Founding hospital partner led by cardiologists including David Richmond. The partnership enables translation of research to clinical practice and provides inspiration for scientists from patient bedside challenges.
• University of Technology SydneymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Associate Professor Carmine Gentile's laboratory for development of microscopic 3D mini-heart models that mimic human heart function for drug testing.
• Chris O'Brien LifehousemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHospital partner for cardio-oncology research project developing drugs to protect breast cancer patients from chemotherapy-induced heart damage using mini-heart technology.
• University of SydneycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with University of Sydney researchers for artery-on-a-chip platform development to predict ischemic stroke risk, replicating patient-specific vascular structure and blood flow dynamics.
• University of SydneycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Professor Ben Freedman leading the world's largest clinical trial on AF screening (SAFER-AUS), enrolling over 600 participants over 70 years old for at-home ECG monitoring.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Murdoch Children's Research Institute: Large Australian non-profit paediatric medical research institute based in Melbourne. Comparable as a major Australian non-profit research institute with similar scale, donor base, and grant funding, though focused on child health rather than cardiovascular disease specifically.
• British Heart Foundation: UK's largest cardiovascular research charity, funding university-based research rather than operating labs directly. Comparable through its heart disease mission, donor-funded model, and grant-making role, but operates at much larger scale and does not run its own laboratories like HRI.
• American Heart Association: US-based non-profit focused on cardiovascular disease research funding, advocacy, and education. Comparable through mission alignment, but operates as a large grant-making and advocacy body rather than an in-house laboratory research institute.

Direct peers

• Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute: Australia's other major standalone cardiovascular research institute, also based in Sydney. Directly comparable as an independent, non-profit medical research institute dedicated to heart disease, with similar donor-funded model and university hospital partnerships.
• Montreal Heart Institute: Canadian non-profit cardiovascular research and clinical care centre. Comparable as a specialised heart research institute combining basic science, clinical trials, and patient care, with similar pioneering work in arrhythmia and personalised cardiology.
• Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute: Australian medical research institute focused on cardiovascular and metabolic disease, headquartered in Melbourne. Comparable non-profit research model, similar disease focus (with diabetes overlap), and comparable scale of donors, grants, and laboratory infrastructure.
• German Heart Centre Munich (Deutsches Herzzentrum München): Specialised German cardiovascular research and treatment centre affiliated with TU Munich. Comparable as a dedicated heart research institute combining laboratory science with clinical translation, including work in heart failure and cardiac surgery relevant to HRI's transplant-alternative research.

Regional players

• Netherlands Heart Institute: Dutch national cardiovascular research consortium coordinating multi-site heart research across Dutch university medical centres. Comparable as a non-profit heart research organisation, but operates as a coordinating network rather than operating dedicated laboratory facilities.
• Centenary Institute: Sydney-based non-profit medical research institute affiliated with the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Directly comparable as a peer Australian research institute sharing the same university and hospital partnerships as HRI, with similar donor-funded model and lab-based research operations.
• Garvan Institute of Medical Research: Leading Australian non-profit medical research institute based in Sydney, also affiliated with the University of Sydney and St Vincent's Hospital. Comparable as a peer Sydney-based research institute with similar grant and donation funding model, though focused on genomics, immunology, and cancer rather than cardiovascular disease.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInau.linkedin.com/company/the-heart-research-institute
• Xx.com/HRIAust
• Facebookfacebook.com/HRIAust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Heart Research Institute