News — Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG)

Frontal view of a developing mouse heart used in the study

Earliest origins of the forming heart identified

8 January 2021

The earliest known progenitor of the outermost layer of the heart has been characterised for the first time and linked to the development of other critical cell types in the developing heart in a new paper from the Srinivas group led by BHF Immediate Fellow Dr Richard Tyser.

New MRI technique could detect early signs of heart failure in cancer patients following chemotherapy

19 November 2020

New research led by Oxford BHF CRE Intermediate Transition Fellow Dr Kerstin Timm shows that a recently developed imaging technique pioneered by the Tyler Group can detect early metabolic changes in the heart caused by a commonly used chemotherapy drug, which is known to increase risk of heart failure in cancer survivors.

Two major BHF awards to Neil Herring pave the way to new treatments for heart attack patients

12 November 2020

Associate Professor Neil Herring has been awarded a Senior Clinical Research Fellowship and a Project grant from the British Heart Foundation to further critical research into the mechanisms behind heart attacks and heart failure and potential drugs to combat them. Given the 50% reduction in research investment this year from the BHF due to the impact of COVID-19, Prof Herring is to be congratulated on these awards.

MRC Senior Non-Clinical Fellowship awarded to Samira Lakhal-Littleton

27 October 2020

Congratulations are in order for Associate Professor Samira Lakhal-Littleton, who has been awarded a Senior Non-Clinical Fellowship by the Medical Research Council to further her lab's work exploring the implications of the cardiac hepcidin/ferroportin axis for the management of iron deficiency in heart failure.

Graphical abstract showing increased energy levels in the heart when mitochondrial deacetylase SIRT3 activator "honokiol" is administered to the diabetic heart, compared to lower levels in the research control group.

Recharging the battery of the diabetic heart

4 September 2020

A new paper from the Heather and Tyler groups has uncovered the mechanism responsible for reduced energy in the hearts of patients with type 2 diabetes and revealed a new therapeutic strategy to reverse the energy deficit.

Richard Tyser is British Science Association Award Lecturer on finding the first heartbeat

11 August 2020

Congratulations are in order to Dr Richard Tyser, who is the 2020 Charles Darwin Award Lecture winner for Agriculture, Biological and Medical Sciences.

Oliver Neely wins Peter Beaconsfield Prize

16 June 2020

Congratulations are in order for DPhil student Oliver Neely of the Paterson and Domingos labs, who has been awarded the Peter Beaconsfield Prize in Physiological Sciences 2020.

HCQ with antibiotics to treat COVID-19 could be dangerous for the heart

26 May 2020

DPAG researchers have collaborated on an international study that demonstrates a detailed mechanistic understanding of how the anti-malaria drug, Hydroxychloroquine, combined with antibiotics, can cause adverse cardiac side-effects in COVID-19 patients. This gives weight to US Federal advice against using this combined treatment.

Heart scarring run by Runx1 gene

27 April 2020

New collaborative research from the Mommersteeg Group and MRC WIMM researchers shows that a protein called Runx1 plays a significant role in the formation of the cardiac scar that forms after the heart is injured, a scar that is known to inhibit heart regeneration. In the zebrafish, a freshwater fish known to be able to fully regenerate its heart after damage, they show that the absence of Runx1 results in enhanced regeneration. This indicates a potential new therapeutic target for heart repair.

New human heart model set to boost future cardiac research and therapies

31 January 2020

DPAG's Dr Jakub Tomek and Professor Blanca Rodriguez's Computational Cardiovascular Science Team have developed a new computer model that recreates the electrical activity of the ventricles in a human heart. In doing so, they have uncovered and resolved theoretical inconsistencies that have been present in almost all models of the heart from the last 25 years and created a new human heart model that could enable more basic, translational and clinical research into a range of heart diseases and potentially accelerate the development of new therapies.

New target identified for repairing the heart after heart attack

30 January 2020

An immune cell is shown for the first time to be involved in creating the scar that repairs the heart after damage. The Riley Group study was funded by the British Heart Foundation and led by BHF CRE Intermediate Transition Research Fellow Dr Filipa Simões.

New target identified to help prevent dangerous heart rhythms after heart attack

8 January 2020

For many years, we have been using beta-blockers to neutralise a specific stress hormone and prevent dangerous heart rhythms following a heart attack. However, a new study led by Associate Professor Neil Herring and published in the European Heart Journal has uncovered evidence for an additional stress hormone acting as a key trigger for dangerous heart rhythms that is not currently targeted by these drugs.

Biomarker predicts which patients with heart failure have a higher risk of dying

7 January 2020

UCLA Researchers in collaboration with DPAG researchers from the Paterson and Herring Groups have identified a biomarker for increased risk of early mortality in patients with heart failure. Associate Professor Neil Herring is senior author.

Manuela Zaccolo honoured by the Royal Society of Biology

21 October 2019

Congratulations are in order to Professor Manuela Zaccolo on being elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

DPAG members shine at the Oxford BHF CRE Annual Symposium 2019

17 October 2019

Congratulations are in order to Matthew Kerr, Andia Redpath, Susann Bruche, KC Park and Minahil Mujahid for their achievements at this major showcase for Oxford's British Heart Foundation funded Researchers.

Damian Tyler is an Honorary Skou Professor at the University of Aarhus

15 October 2019

The award recognises and solidifies Professor Tyler's collaborative work with the MR Research Centre, part of the Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Aarhus.

Richard Tyser awarded runner-up position in BHF image competition

14 August 2019

This year's "Reflections of Research" competition, run by the British Heart Foundation, selects "The Forming Heart" by Dr Richard Tyser as the Judge's runner-up

Potential strategy identified to improve blood vessel growth after heart attack

22 July 2019

A collaborative paper from the De Val and Smart Groups has established multiple regulatory pathways responsible for the formation of blood vessels in the developing heart. In doing so they have identified a crucial pathway that is repressed in the adult heart after injury, which may hold the key to a new and improved strategy for repair.

New approach to reducing damage after a heart attack

12 July 2019

During the emergency procedure used to reopen the blocked artery causing a heart attack, smaller "micro" blood vessels can remain constricted causing significant damage. A new study led by Associate Professor Neil Herring and published in the European Heart Journal has established a key cause behind this constriction and identified a potential therapeutic target to block the mechanism behind it.

Sarah De Val set to expand critical research into endothelial cell dysfunction in cardiovascular disease

12 July 2019

Prof Sarah De Val in collaboration with Dr Gillian Douglas from the Radcliffe Department of Medicine has received a grant from the John Fell Fund to support their work investigating the behaviour of different endothelial regulatory pathways during disorders of the cardiovascular system.