About
I am a Head of the Department of Primary Care and Mental Health and a Senior Clinical Lecturer. I also work as a GP at Brownlow Health GP Partnership and as a GP with Specialist Interest in Hypertension at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. I have a background as an academic cardiologist.
My primary clinical academic interests are:
- Holistic care of people with cardiovascular pathology, particularly in disadvantaged and hard to reach groups, those with frailty and mental health diseases
- Hypertension prevention, timely diagnosis and individualised management for best outcomes
- Data science and digital technologies in healthcare.
I joined the University of Liverpool in August 2021, moving from Birmingham after completing GP training in 2020 and working full-time as a GP during the COVID-19 pandemic. I participate in multidisciplinary research collaborations focusing on cardiovascular health (hypertension, atrial fibrillation, heart failure), especially in the context of medical complexity, multimorbidity, polypharmacy and frailty. I joined the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at City Hospital in Birmingham in 2008 to do a Research fellowship funded by the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. This collaborative research between primary and secondary care led me to a PhD with the Department of Primary Care Clinical Sciences at the University of Birmingham. I continued work at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the City Hospital in Birmingham, splitting my time between clinical cardiology duties and postdoctoral research. I initiated clinical research on monocytes in cardiovascular pathology, leading an internationally recognised group. Seven UK cardiology and vascular surgery speciality trainees completed their MD/PhD degrees as members of the group working with several international research fellows. I was a co-PI of an NIHR-funding IMPRESS-AF trial of spironolactone in atrial fibrillation with preserved ejection fraction and developed skills in quantitative research as a member of the E-ECHOES Study (Ethnic - Echocardiographic Heart of England Screening Study) team.
I am accepting PhD students interested in research into improving the management of hypertension, health failure, and atrial fibrillation in the community, especially their interactions with ageing and mental and physical health problems. The projects can be focused on digital methods (statistics, AI) or community measures of cardiovascular health and body composition.