Professor Simon Stewart is a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Senior Principal Research Fellow. He has dedicated his research career to understanding the evolving epidemic of heart disease and developing innovative health care programs to improve poor health outcomes. A key focus of his health services research is the impact of disease among vulnerable individuals and communities. Consistent with his research interests, Professor Stewart was a pioneer in developing and refining evidence-based, nurse-led, multidisciplinary heart failure management. More recently, he led the first-ever trial to demonstrate the capacity of a multidisciplinary, atrial fibrillation-specific management program to reduce the risk of readmission and prolong the lives of those hospitalised with a chronic form of atrial fibrillation. He has also designed and then led a number of seminal disease surveillance studies, including the world-renowned Heart of Soweto Study in South Africa.