The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute has had the pleasure of hosting Rosa Ciullo from the University of Torino, Italy for the past 6 months in our laboratory. Rosa is a very talented second year PhD student within the Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences at the University of Torino, Italy, supervised by Prof Pasquale Pagliaro, Prof Claudia Penna and Dr Licia Brizzi. Her visit was funded by a fellowship from an Italian educational program that supports international research training.

During her internship with us, Rosa conducted experiments using our novel compound UCL-TRO-1938, which is a selective activator of protective kinase signalling pathways, using tissue from rodent hearts, brains and other tissues. In the short time that she was here she successfully established a new method in the lab to investigate the damaging effect of inflammation on the inner layer of blood vessels, and she obtained novel exciting data suggesting that our new investigational drug, UCL-TRO-1938 is able to protect against this damage.

The project lays the foundations for a fruitful collaboration between their lab and ours, with the hope that this might lead to future joint publications and further scientific exchange.

Rosa has been a wonderful addition to our laboratory team. She has shown a strong understanding of the research, has been a quick learner of techniques and always shown a positive attitude and exemplary work ethic. The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute wishes Rosa all the best as she completes her PhD and would welcome her back to work with us in the future.

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute is pleased to announce Dr Thomas Wright has been awarded as Runner Up in the Early Career Investigator category at this year’s International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) congress. Dr Wright presented a talk titled ‘NLRP3 inhibition reduces myocardial infarction in the context of cardiorenal disease’ as part of the Early Career Investigator Awards Session.

The International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) annual conference was held at the University of Birmingham 22-25 June. An active European and global network, the ISHR is dedicated to advancing cardiovascular science by bringing together researchers. This is accomplished through an annual congress as well as regular webinars and collaborative activities to foster interaction between early-career and established scientists, with the underpinning aim of promoting innovation, knowledge exchange and establishment of a strong research community.

Dr Wright joined The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute in October 2025 as a Post Doctoral Fellow to undertake research on our British Heart Foundation (BHF) funded cardio-renal programme focussed on the identification of novel therapeutic targets which tackle inflammation to promote cardioprotection in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Dr Wright is a valuable member of our research team, and we are pleased to see his research in chronic kidney disease already being acknowledged. We look forward to seeing further results from the ongoing studies.

The 4^th Annual RIC Africa Principal Investigators was held on 17^th March at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa bringing together our consortium to discuss study progress, challenges and ideas.

The RIC-AFRICA trial was established to investigate whether Remote Ischaemic Conditioning (RIC) can improve clinical outcomes in these higher-risk STEMI patients in sub-Saharan Africa treated by thrombolysis. What began as a pilot study in early 2022 across 4 African countries, RIC Africa is now active in 8 pan-African countries, involving nearly 20 different hospital sites. Each year we welcome new teams and sites as the study grows and the awareness of the research stretches across Africa. This year we were fortunate to welcome Mauritius and Ethiopia as new members of the RIC Africa family.

Under the leadership of Prof Derek Yellon (UCL) and Prof Mpiko Ntsekhe (UCT), the study as secured significant funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Denmark. This support has enabled dedicated Research Medical Officers and Research Nurses to focus on the study and thus, has allowed for much progress. Prof Yellon has an honorary position at UCT in the Department of Medicine due to his on-going advisory capacity and this further strengthens links to UCT and beyond. At a recent meeting between senior representatives of UCT and UCL, the success of the RIC Africa study was included on the agenda as the two organisations explore opportunities to build closer ties. We have been fortunate to have the support of the UCL Research, Innovation & Global Engagement team (under Prof Geraint Rees), since the inception of the RIC Africa study.

The meeting was productive, informative and as always, an excellent opportunity to share challenges and solutions. With each year, we feel the team coming together more and solidifying the network. Presentations on potential sub-studies allowed us to think of new studies to utilise the data looking ahead. Certainly, there is great opportunity.

Importantly, we began collective discussions around the education programme that will underpin RIC Africa. Through various courses specific to clinical research and by utilising a variety of resources, we will create a comprehensive and applicable training package to support continued research across Africa.

As with past meetings, the opportunity to come together as a team strengthened our determination to reach the study goals and reminds us what is possible through teamwork. We continue to be proud of the important work the team is undertaking. We look forward to see what we will achieve in the coming year!

Professor Derek Yellon and Professor Malcolm Walker were invited guests of the Mauritius Ministry of Health at the opening of their new national Clinical Trial Unit (CTU). The CTU is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Health and the Trust Fund for Specialised Medical Care in Mauritius. As a central hub for all clinical trials, a CTU is a large step-change for the country as they further develop their research infrastructure. Mauritius as a population is vulnerable, with a number of health priorities, so it is a positive step towards advancing medical research nationally.

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute at UCL is proud to have the RIC Africa trial, of which Prof Yellon is co-PI, as the first trial of their new CTU. Mauritius is one of 8 participating countries in the RIC Africa trial, and national recruitment and operations will be supported by their CTU, led by Dr Nishant Nundlall.  RIC Africa will be active in all 5 health regions of Mauritius, including their SAMU ambulatory service.

Both Profs Yellon and Walker are honorary advisors to the Government of Mauritius and  were honoured to be included in the opening of this important research unit and look forward to continued collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

Please read the press release from the Mauritius Government here.

Prof Derek Yellon and Anil Bachoo, Minister of Health & Wellness    

Left to Right:             Dr Nishant Nundlall, Prof Derek Yellon,     Anil Bachoo (Minister of Health), Prof Malcolm Walker

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute is proud to announce both Professor Derek Yellon and Professor Sean Davidson have been acknowledged on the 2025 Highly Cited Researcher by the Web of Science™ Highly Cited Researcher List for 2025. This is the seventh consecutive year Prof Yellon has been granted this designation and the fourth for Prof Davidson. Both have been named in the Cross-Field category.

To make it onto the Highly Cited Researcher list, a researcher must demonstrate significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research. Those researchers selected have authored multiple Highly Cited Papers which rank in the top 1% by citations for their field and publication year in the Web of Science Core Collection over the past eleven years. Citation activity is not the only criteria, selection is further refined using other quantitative metrics, as well as qualitative analysis and expert judgment. Therefore, this recognition places Prof Yellon and Prof Davidson amongst the leading scientists worldwide and highlights the excellence of research being undertaken at The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute.

The UK has held its rank at 3^rd place upon global rankings of the 60 countries represented (77 researchers were included from UCL), with USA in 1^st position and China at 2^nd. Consisting of 52 institutions, UCL stands in 8^th position on the list, tied with Oxford University and ahead of Cambridge University (15^th) and Imperial College London (27^th). The top 3 institutions continue to be the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harvard University and Stanford University.

Many congratulations to the entire team at The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute as this designation reflects not only the ongoing hard work of Prof Yellon and Prof Davidson, but all of the PhD students and Post Doctoral Fellows working on our many active programmes.

The full report and list of 2025 recipients can be seen here:

https://clarivate.com/highly-cited-researchers/

At a recent meeting the Government of Mauritius acknowledged the successful and ongoing collaboration with The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute, University College London, UK in improving the health of its citizens. In this regard, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, together with The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute, UCL, the Renal Association of Mauritius and the Cardiovascular Association of Mauritius, will be hosting an International Conference on “Addressing the crisis in Heart, Kidney and Metabolic Disorders” to be held on 25-26 October 2025 in Mauritius. This conference will address the current crisis in heart, kidney and metabolic disorders within Mauritius, both allowing for the creation of educational opportunities and the implementation of prevention and management of cardio-renal and metabolic diseases in Mauritius.

Prof Derek Yellon and Prof Malcolm Walker have been working with the Prime Minister and his Ministry of Health in Mauritius for over 20 years, helping to create the National Cardiovascular Clinical Guidelines. Since that time, the government has continued to refer to Prof Yellon and Prof Walker in an advisory capacity on issues around cardiovascular health and research.  This conference continues to build on this collaboration by providing medical education in bringing together world leading clinical researchers to work in partnership with the medical community in Mauritius.  In addition, this long-standing collaboration, with the Republic of Mauritius, has led to their clinicians leading and undertaking international clinical research studies.  In this regard, we are in the process of undertaking one of the largest heart attack studies in Africa. This pan-African study aims to protect patients presenting with a heart attack in which Mauritius will take a leading role. This study, called RIC-Africa, has been supported by The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute, UCL (UK), the Mancherjee Foundation (USA), and most recently and most significantly, by a major grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (Denmark).

Below you can read the welcome address for the conference from Dr the Honourable Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Prime Minister, Republic of Mauritius which acknowledges the contributions of Prof Yellon and Prof Walker.

The 2026 UCL- Wellington Clinical Fellowship scheme is now open for applications. There are two Fellowships available, one has a flexible start date from early 2026 and the second will commence in Autumn 2026.

UCL and the Wellington Hospital are partners in a long-standing programme in which Fellows study for a PhD in the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science while working at the UK’s largest private hospital providing specialist complex care.

This Clinical Fellowship is available to cardiologists looking to undertake an exclusively cardiovascular PhD. Fellows will register for their higher degrees at UCL (part-time). Their salary will be funded by The Wellington Hospital who will also cover their annual higher degree registration fee and an annual allowance for consumables for a period of up to 3 years. In return the Fellows are employed directly by the Hospital, working the equivalent of 30 hours per week.

Clinically the Fellows will be based at The Wellington Hospital in St. John’s Wood, London while the academic work will be based within the Institute of Cardiovascular Science, UCL.

We welcome all applicants who are medically qualified, GMC registered and have MRCP. The scheme is open only to UK nationals due to funding restrictions.

To apply, please visit the UCL website here.

Closes: 2^nd October 2025

Study and any other related enquiries should be made to Professor Derek Yellon, Director of the Hatter Cardiovascular Institute, UCL: d.yellon@ucl.ac.uk

Employment related enquiries should be made to Dr Damian Sczudlo, Head of Resident Doctors, The Wellington Hospital: damian.sczudlo@hcahealthcare.co.uk

Professor Derek Yellon has been named in the 2025 Research.com ranking of the best scholars in the area of Medicine. This is the 4th edition of the Research.com report which is created using data derived from various data sources including OpenAlex and CrossRef. Position in the ranking is based on a scientist’s D-index (Discipline H-index), which takes into account only publications and citation metrics for an examined discipline.

This report highlighting the best researchers is a credible account of leading scientists from the discipline of Medicine, based on a thorough study of 166,880 researchers identified from a variety of bibliometric data sources. For the area of Medicine, more than 72,221 scientists were investigated. We are proud to inform that Professor Yellon was ranked 1164^th in the world, 124^th in the UK and 17^th in UCL for 2025.

The full report and list of 2025 recipients can be seen here:

Research.com Scientist Rankings/Medicine

The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute is pleased to congratulate our two most recent PhD graduates who attended their convocation this week. Dr Lucie Pearce and Dr Handi Salim were both Wellington Fellows at the HCI and through their hard work and dedication to their projects, contributed greatly to our research programmes. This brings the total of postgraduate degrees completed at the HCI to 85!

We wish Dr Pearce and Dr Salim all the best in their future endeavours and look forward to seeing what they accomplish next!

Recently Professor Derek Yellon and Professor Malcolm Walker travelled to Mauritius at the invitation of the new Prime Minister, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, to discuss health research programmes. Having previously led cardiovascular research and health initiatives in Mauritius, their guidance on how to best tackle continued challenges specific to diabetes, obesity and kidney failure was sought.

Mauritius typically has a high burden of cardiovascular disease along with one of the world’s highest rates of obesity and thus, diabetes. Prime Minister Ramgoolam has an active goal of realising improved health for Mauritius and through the support and guidance of Profs Yellon and Walker, would like to initiate further research to realise healthier lifestyles for his country. Prof Yellon and Prof Walker are pleased to support ongoing research projects to enable better overall health of the nation.

Mauritius is also a participating member of the RIC Africa study and together with the other 7 countries across Africa, seeks to find practical solutions to reduce the burden of heart failure from myocardial infarction (heart attack).

You can read the news article from the Mauritius Government website here.