Our Research Training Fellowships focus on giving surgeons and physicians the opportunity to develop their talent and hone their skills and expertise. We have awarded our first two £150,000 Fellowships to Dr Justine Bhar-Amato and Mr Bao Nguyen. 

Dr Justine Bhar-Amato, University College London (UCL) Heart Hospital:  investigating Brugada Syndrome

The occurrence of sudden arrhythmic death (SAD), also known as sudden adult death syndrome, is a growing one. Most people have read stories in the newspaper about young people who have died in their sleep or following exercise or stress, where no abnormality is found during autopsy. These cases are devastating, as they not only involve the death of a young person, but as the disorder is often genetic, surviving family members may also be at risk. 

Brugada Syndrome is a genetic condition where the patient has an abnormal heartbeat, despite the heart having a normal structure.  It is a rare condition in the western world and is more common in the South East Asian population.  The condition can be fatal, with death commonly occurring during sleep. It is thought to be responsible for 20% of sudden deaths in otherwise healthy people.  

This three-year research project will be carried out by working with patients who have Brugada Syndrome and by using a lab-based model of the condition.  Dr Bhar-Amato will be altering the effect of the autonomic nervous system on the heart by using special medications, to assess whether abnormal heart rhythms are more likely under certain conditions. Small tubes called catheters will be inserted through a vein fed into the heart.  Electrical impulses will be delivered to the heart via the catheters and the signals emitted by the heart in response to these impulses will be examined.

The project will help to understand the reasons for abnormal heart function in Brugada Syndrome and could lead to new treatments to prevent arrhythmias and minimise the risk of death to these patients.  The findings may also improve understanding of how the autonomic nervous system affects heart function in a range of other conditions.

Mr Bao Nguyen, Hammersmith Hospital:  making heart surgery safer

Coronary artery bypass grafting is the most common type of heart surgery for coronary artery disease, where the supply of blood to the heart is restricted by the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries.  During this, and other types of complex heart surgery, patients often need to go on a heart-lung bypass machine, also known as a CPB, which oxygenates the blood and, whilst the heart is being operated on, pumps it around the body.  In some cases, being placed on the CPB can trigger the immune system into action and lead to severe, whole body ‘inflammatory response’, which can damage the heart, lungs and kidneys, causing serious complications and multiple organ failure.

Mr Nguyen will study a new miniaturised bypass system (mini CPB) which has been shown to minimise the inflammatory response of the body.  During the three-year project, he will develop innovative laboratory tests to measure this response in patients undergoing heart surgery.  These tests will be used to examine the effects on patients’ immune cells and heart muscle tissue and allow him to compare the impact of using mini CPB with conventional bypass. The project will improve understanding of how inflammation occurs and will show whether mini-CPB is a safer alternative to conventional CPB.  If positive, this could lead to better, low risk treatment for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.  The new tests developed will also be widely applicable to patients with other inflammatory diseases – so the work could potentially benefit people with arthritis, joint diseases and inflammatory-based conditions such as bowel disease.

For more information about grants contact Heart Research UK on 0113 234 7474 or email grants@heartresearch.org.uk