The Division of Experimental Medicine and Immunotherapeutics (EMIT) was established in 2014 from the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and the Vasculitis section of the Department of Medicine, Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Our raison d’etre is the translation of benchside science into human clinical research. We conduct our work primarily in the purpose-built clinical and basic science laboratories in the Addenbrooke’s Centre for Clinical Investigation, funded by the British Heart Foundation and on Level 5, Department of Medicine.
Research in this cross-cutting themed Division primarily concerns studies in healthy volunteers to dissect normal physiology and understand pharmacology of new molecules, and trials in patients including interventional clinical trials, end-point and outcome measure development and biomarker validation. The division is developing an active programme to support career development in experimental medicine.
Members of the Division hold senior positions in the British Hypertension Society, British Pharmacological Society as well as international collaborations such as the European Vasculitis Society. Clinical and non-clinical members form the basis of the division, with a strong drive towards encouraging the clinicians to learn basic science skills, and the scientists to take part in human-orientated research.
Most of the research, described by individual PIs, is cardiovascular, including hypertension, arterial stiffness, genetics of sodium handling, ischemia/reperfusion, and action on the circulation of G-protein coupled receptors. An emphasis on early phase translation into human subjects, either in healthy volunteers or patients forms the remit of the Division.
As well as research and active clinical work, the Division undertakes teaching of undergraduates and training of junior doctors in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Vasculitis. Our trainees comprise Academic Clinical Lecturers as well as NHS Specialist Registrar posts. We are seminally involved in running and directing the Clinical School’s MPhil programme in Clinical Science.
