Karam Kostner

KARAM KOSTNER is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland and Director of Cardiology at Mater Public and Private Hospitals in Brisbane. As a cardiologist and one of the most experienced lipidologists in Australia, he oversees a large public and private lipid clinic. He is also a director of Cholesterol Care Australia, a specialist cholesterol clinic and research facility in Brisbane and a senior cardiologist with Heart of Australia, which delivers specialist healthcare services and testing to rural, remote, and indigenous communities across Queensland.Karam’s clinical interests are preventative cardiology and lipid disorders. His passion combines helping people with high cholesterol and investigating new therapies for patients with elevated cholesterol. Cardiovascular research has involved him for 20 years, and, as principal investigator, he has conducted more than 65 clinical trials including many trials on lipid lowering therapies. His team developed an extracorporeal lipid removal technique called lipid apheresis and the first patients worldwide were trialled by his team in Brisbane. The team also developed a medication to decrease lipoprotein (a) which is currently in clinical trials.Karam completed his schooling and most of his medical studies in Austria. He undertook post-doctoral work at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, University of Queensland, Brisbane (1991-93) before returning to Austria where he undertook specialty training in internal medicine (1994-98), graduating as a specialist in Internal Medicine in December 1998, before undertaking speciality training in cardiology (1998-2000), becoming a specialist cardiologist in March 2001. He became a professor of medicine in Austria at the age of 33 and is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland. He returned to Australia in 2001 settling in Brisbane and continuing his career at the Mater Hospital and UQ.Government and medical bodies regularly consult Karam about approval of and funding for new and established lipid-lowering therapies.Having published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, four book chapters and several review articles and editorials, Karam has also delivered numerous invited lectures at cardiovascular meetings and is past president of the Cardiac Society of Australia and NZ, Queensland branch. Currently, he is an associate editor of Atherosclerosis and The Journal of Preventive Cardiology and an associate editor and cardiovascular section editor of the European Journal Clinical Investigation (a peer-reviewed medical journal that covers a wide range of clinical research and investigations in various fields of medicine) and a regular reviewer for many journals, as well as being a National Health and Medical Research grant reviewer. (The NHMR is the leading body for health and medical research in Australia, responsible for providing funding, setting guidelines, and promoting research excellence in health and medicine.)Karam has also organised, or been on the committee of, several national and international conferences and has been the chair and organiser of the World Congress of Clinical Lipidology on three occasions.Outside of work Karam loves outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking with his family and friends and is a very keen fisherman.