The American Heart Association Council has given a Novartis award to Professor John Funder, research strategy director at Monash Medical Centre.

After 40 years of collaborative research, Professor Funder identified a condition known as primary aldosteronism, responsible for about 10per cent of all cases of high blood pressure.

He said it would still take years for treatments to become widely available because medical professionals needed to be made aware of them.

Professor Funder shared his discoveries at a special lecture in Aspen, US, last week. He has also been invited to discuss them at a talk in Japan in March.

"I'm honoured to have received this award because hormone research is not normally recognised by the Novartis awards," he said.

"It's an exciting time to be involved in medical research and I hope to continue my work for many years to come."

Professor Funder is a senior fellow at the Prince Henry Institute of Medical Research and an officer of the Order of Australia.