Rate My Professor Anna Pilbrow

Research Associate Professor Anna Pilbrow serves as Deputy Head of Department in the Department of Medicine (Christchurch) at the University of Otago. She holds a BSc and PhD from the University of Otago. Her research specializes in cardiovascular genetics and genomics, exploring how genetic variation contributes to susceptibility to heart disease. Pilbrow investigates genes and proteins within the heart and blood vessels that are altered in people genetically predisposed to heart disease. She aims to identify new biomarkers that will help predict the risk of heart attacks. She is also working to identify genetic variants that increase the risk of heart disease in New Zealand families who have a strong family history of premature heart disease. At the Christchurch Heart Institute's Omics Laboratory, her research focuses on mechanisms underlying inherited susceptibility to heart disease, discovering novel circulating and genetic biomarkers to predict risk and progression, including non-coding RNAs, utilizing blood and heart tissue samples from healthy volunteers and heart patients in New Zealand and the USA.

Pilbrow has received numerous awards and honors, including the University of Otago Christchurch Four Year Fellowship (2023), Heart Foundation of New Zealand Foundation100 Fellowship (2021), Finalist for Division of Health Sciences Otago University Students’ Association Supervisor of the Year Award (2020), ThermoFisher Scientific Award for Excellence in Molecular Biology, Queenstown Research Week (2017), Heart Foundation of New Zealand Senior Fellowship (2014), University of Otago Early Career Award for Distinction in Research (2014), and Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship (2011). Her key publications include 'Altered cerebrovascular haemodynamics in Parkinson's disease: Insights from 4D flow MRI' (2026, npj Parkinson's Disease), 'Considerations for study design and analysis for ethically and culturally safe DNA methylation research in Aotearoa New Zealand' (2026, SSM Population Health), 'Addressing significant inequity' (2026, New Zealand Medical Journal), 'Plasma total neopterin and neopterin levels are significantly elevated in stroke patients before carotid endarterectomy surgery' (2025, Pteridines), and the highly cited 'Plasma coenzyme Q10 concentration, one independent predictor of mortality in chronic heart failure' (2008, Journal of the American College of Cardiology). With 113 publications and over 3,300 citations on Google Scholar, her contributions have advanced the understanding of genetic and biomarker influences in cardiovascular disease.