Therapies against well-recognised common risk factors of heart disease such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure have led to significant improvements in treating heart disease. However, clinical data shows that up to 27% of patients with heart disease lack traditional risk factors. My vision is that we can identify new biomarkers or drug targets with better insights into the disease. Cholesterol sticking to the vessel walls is one of the critical events in developing heart disease. Therefore, I will explore this interaction for its potential as a novel biomarker and therapeutic target.
Females with inflammatory conditions are at an increased risk of heart disease. I have exciting pilot data demonstrating that the aortas of only the female mice with inflammatory bowel disease have sticky blood vessels. This project will also seek to define the sex-specific impact on heart disease.
Last updated17 January 2023