Professor of Therapeutics

Head of EMIT

Director Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit

Director Office of Translational Research

Honorary Consultant Physician

Email: ibw20@cam.ac.uk 

Tel: 01223 336898

Also WE Parkes British Heart Foundation Senior Clinical Fellow, fellow of the British Hypertension Society, fellow of the British Pharmacological society and fellow of the American Heart Association.

Research Description

My research focuses on understanding the biological pathways underlying systemic hypertension and arteriosclerosis, with a strong emphasis on basic physiology, experimental/translational medicine and early phase interventional clinical trials. Current major research projects include:

• Validating and developing novel haemodynamic biomarkers
• Assessing the cause and importance of vascular inflammation in COPD
• Evaluating the role of sodium and glycosaminoglycans in regulating blood pressure and aortic stiffness
• Developing non-invasive imaging for vascular inflammation and calcification
• The impact of cardiovascular risk factors, and novel drugs on nitric oxide production and endothelial function
• Identify novel stiffening candidates using molecular profiling of human aortae.
• Identifying difference in antihypertensive drug responses between different ethnic groups in the UK

My group has expertise in vascular physiology/pharmacology, hypertension, endothelial biology and trial design. With Major awards from the BHF, MRC and TSB. I have active collaborations with biomedical engineering, matrix biology, chemistry, and imaging in Cambridge; and external collaborations with the Universities of Cardiff, Manchester, Kings College London, Royal Brompton Hospital, and Macquarie (Australia) and Zurich (Switzerland[M1] ). My group also has developed collaborative partnerships with a number of Pharmaceutical Companies and Device Manufactures.

I led the establishment of the Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit, which has full NIHR accreditation, and direct the office of Translational Research in the Clinical School. Both aim to facilitate the development of innovative new therapies.

I also lead the Experimental Medicine training initiative for the University, which aims to provide support and training for clinicians and non-clinicians interested in clinical research. Applications from prospective PhD and MD candidates from both clinical and science backgrounds, as well as students in MPhil Clinical Sciences, are always welcomed

 Recent Publications

• Brame AL, Maguire JJ, Yang P, Dyson A, Torella R, Cheriyan J, Singer M, Glen RC, Wilkinson IB & Davenport AP. (2015). Design, characterization, and first-in-human study of the vascular actions of a novel biased apelin receptor agonist. Hypertension 65, 834-840.
• Interleukin 1 Genetics C. (2015). Cardiometabolic effects of genetic upregulation of the interleukin 1 receptor antagonist: a Mendelian randomisation analysis. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 3, 243-253.
• Brunner EJ, Shipley MJ, Ahmadi-Abhari S, Tabak AG, McEniery CM, Wilkinson IB, Marmot MG, Singh-Manoux A & Kivimaki M. (2015). Adiposity, obesity, and arterial aging: longitudinal study of aortic stiffness in the Whitehall II cohort. Hypertension 66, 294-300
• Ben-Shlomo Y, Spears M, Boustred C, May M, Anderson SG, Benjamin EJ, Boutouyrie P, Cameron J, Chen CH, Cruickshank JK, Hwang SJ, Lakatta EG, Laurent S, Maldonado J, Mitchell GF, Najjar SS, Newman AB, Ohishi M, Pannier B, Pereira T, Vasan RS, Shokawa T, Sutton-Tyrell K, Verbeke F, Wang KL, Webb DJ, Hansen TW, Zoungas S, McEniery CM, Cockcroft JR & Wilkinson IB. (2013). Aortic pulse wave velocity improves cardiovascular event prediction: an individual participant meta-analysis of prospective observational data from 17,635 subjects. J Am Coll Cardiol. 63, 636-46.
• Elkhawad M, Rudd JHF, Sarov-Blat L, Cai G, Wells R, Davies LC, Collier DJ, Marber MS, Choudhury RP, Fayad ZA, Tawakol A, Gleeson FV, Lepore JJ, Davis B, Willette RN, Wilkinson IB, Sprecher DL & Cheriyan J. (2012). Effects of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Inhibition on Vascular and Systemic Inflammation in Patients With Atherosclerosis. JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging 5, 911-922.
• Maki-Petaja KM, Elkhawad M, Cheriyan J, Joshi FR, Ostor AJ, Hall FC, Rudd JH & Wilkinson IB. (2012). Anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha therapy reduces aortic inflammation and stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Circulation 126, 2473-2480.
• Cheriyan J, Webb AJ, Sarov-Blat L, Elkhawad M, Wallace SM, Maki-Petaja KM, Collier DJ, Morgan J, Fang Z, Willette RN, Lepore JJ, Cockcroft JR, Sprecher DL & Wilkinson IB. (2011). Inhibition of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Improves Nitric Oxide-Mediated Vasodilatation and Reduces Inflammation in Hypercholesterolemia. Circulation 123, 515-523.
• Reference Values for Arterial Stiffness’ Collaboration. (2010). Determinants of pulse wave velocity in healthy people and in the presence of cardiovascular risk factors: ‘establishing normal and reference values’. Eur Heart J 31, 2338-2350.
• McEniery CM, Yasmin, Maki-Petaja KM, McDonnell BJ, Munnery M, Hickson SS, Franklin SS, Cockcroft JR, Wilkinson IB & Investigators A-CCT. (2010). The impact of cardiovascular risk factors on aortic stiffness and wave reflections depends on age: the Anglo-Cardiff Collaborative Trial (ACCT III). Hypertension 56, 591-597.
• McEniery CM, Spratt M, Munnery M, Yarnell J, Lowe GD, Rumley A, Gallacher J, Ben-Shlomo Y, Cockcroft JR, & Wilkinson IB (2010). An Analysis of Prospective Risk Factors for Aortic Stiffness in Men. 20-Year Follow-Up From the Caerphilly Prospective Study. Hypertension 56, 36-43
• McEniery CM, McDonnell BJ, So A, Aitken S, Bolton CE, Munnery M, Hickson SS, Yasmin, Maki-Petaja KM, Cockcroft JR, Dixon AK, & Wilkinson IB (2009). Aortic Calcification Is Associated With Aortic Stiffness and Isolated Systolic Hypertension in Healthy Individuals. Hypertension 53, 524-531.
• Maki-Petaja KM, Booth AD, Hall FC, Wallace SM, Brown J, McEniery CM, & Wilkinson IB (2007). Ezetimibe and simvastatin reduce inflammation, disease activity, and aortic stiffness and improve endothelial function in rheumatoid arthritis. J Am Coll Cardiol 50, 852-858.
• Maki-Petaja KM, Hall FC, Booth AD, Wallace SM, Yasmin, Bearcroft PW, Harish S, Furlong A, McEniery CM, Brown J, & Wilkinson IB (2006). Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with increased aortic pulse-wave velocity, which is reduced by anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha therapy. Circulation 114, 1185-1192.