Coronary Artery Disease

The coronary artery disease group comprises of a number of investigators studying the presentation of coronary artery disease and/or its consequences in a number of experimental and human settings. Human and patient studies are conducted under the auspices of the Sheffield NIHR Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit (CVBRU: Director Storey), a partnership between the University of Sheffield and the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust funded in 2008 (£3.75M revenue and £2M Capital).

The research group have significant expertise in a number of experimental models of vascular injury and atherosclerosis. A major research theme is the regulation and modulation of inflammation and repair in diseased blood vessel walls (Francis/Crossman). An MRC-funded clinical trial in this area, IL-A HEART, led by Professor David Crossman, is due to report in 2009. Other areas of interest include the use of ultrasound as a delivery vehicle for therapeutic proteins (Newman), in-stent restenosis, `real´ culprit lesions and chronic total occlusions (Gunn), pro-healing stents and stem cells (Raina) and mechanisms of release of leaderless proteins from inflammatory cells (Wilson).

Significant research links also exist with the UoS MRC Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics, the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and TUOS Centre for Stem Cell Biology.