Rate My Professor Nicola Scott

Dr. Nicola Scott is a Senior Research Fellow in the Christchurch Heart Institute within the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch. She earned her BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry in 2003 and her PhD in 2008, both from the University of Otago. Her doctoral thesis examined the influence of natriuretic peptide receptor-1 on survival and cardiac function following myocardial infarction. Throughout her career at the Christchurch Heart Institute's Large Animal Physiology team, Scott has specialized in the integrated cardiovascular, endocrine, and renal control of pressure and volume homeostasis. Her research highlights the roles of key vasoactive hormones, such as natriuretic peptides and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, in the pathophysiology of circulatory diseases including hypertension, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. She develops strategies to manipulate these hormonal systems for preventing and treating these conditions, utilizing ovine models to bridge preclinical findings toward clinical applications.

Scott's research interests encompass neurohormonal physiology and pathophysiology in cardiovascular health and disease, bioactivity of vasoactive hormones, pathophysiology of myocardial infarction and heart failure, and cardiac imaging. She was awarded the Heart Foundation of New Zealand Senior Fellowship in 2024 and has secured grants from the Heart Foundation, Canterbury Medical Research Foundation, and Health Research Council of New Zealand. Notable publications include 'Phosphodiesterase 9 inhibition combined with valsartan and with sacubitril/valsartan in experimental ovine heart failure' (Journal of the American Heart Association, 2024), 'Haemodynamic, hormonal and renal actions of osteocrin in normal sheep' (Experimental Physiology, 2024), 'Combined inhibition of phosphodiesterases-5 and -9 in experimental heart failure' (JACC: Heart Failure, 2024), and 'Influence of natriuretic peptide receptor-1 on survival and cardiac function following myocardial infarction' (Cardiovascular Research, 2009). Scott serves on the University of Otago Animal Ethics Committee and has presented on preclinical heart failure therapies in public lectures, such as the 2025 University of Otago Christchurch Public Talks series. Her work advances novel therapeutic targets in cardiology.