2024: Jamie Kitt
After developing an interest in scientific research during the final year research project of a Biological Natural Sciences degree in Cambridge University Jamie successfully transferred onto a graduate medical degree course at the University of Oxford. Jamie worked on research projects where possible during his initial medical training, including leading recruitment of the INSIGHT H5N1 study from 2011-2013 under Prof Brian Angus in the Nuffield Department of Medicine. He then began training as a cardiology speciality registrar and developed sub specialist interests in Obstetric cardiology, Hypertension and Cardiac imaging, which is where a research interest began in hypertensive pregnancy within Paul Leeson’s group of RDM CV Medicine. Under the supervision of Professors Paul Leeson, Richard McManus and Adam Lewandowski, Jamie was awarded a British Heart Foundation clinical research training fellowship to investigate the mechanism and potential treatment of the long-term cardiovascular complications that occur following Hypertensive pregnancy. The funding was used to run a randomized controlled trial on the post-partum self-management of hypertensive pregnancy (POP-HT). Jamie completed his DPhil in Medical Sciences in the Autumn of 2022.
Following completion of his DPhil, Jamie returned to clinical practice to complete his clinical training in cardiology and general internal medicine in April 2023. During this time, he continued to work as a post-doctoral research fellow within the Leeson group of the Radcliffe Department of Medicine. He has used this time to complete the analysis and draft the key publications from the Physician Optimized Post-partum Hypertension Treatment (POP-HT) trial, which were presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Late Breaking Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia in November 2023. The primary outcome paper was published in JAMA to coincide with AHA and the key secondary imaging outcome paper was published in Circulation in February this year with an accompanying Circulation on the Run podcast covering this vital area of research. The trial identified a new paradigm as to how we understand, and how we can prevent, links between hypertensive pregnancy and long-term cardiovascular risk. This work has the potential to transform care for women affected by hypertensive pregnancy in the postpartum period. The vascular sub-study work has been presented at the British and Irish Hypertension Society, for which he was awarded the early career research award, and has been invited to present this body of work at the Australian Hypertension Society in December 2025. Professor Larry Chamley from New Zealand has also invited the team to share their work and collaborate on developing a remote self-management platform in Auckland during this visit to the Southern Hemisphere. The Vascular POP-HT sub-study paper is currently being submitted for peer review and the Brain POP-HT paper will be submitted in early 2025.
As well as continuing his clinical work within the NHS, alongside Professor Leeson, Dr Lucy MacKillop and his first DPhil student, Megha Agarwal, they have set up a dedicated postpartum hypertension clinic at the John Radcliffe Hospital on behalf of the University of Oxford. This is the first step in the clinical translation process of the work achieved in POP-HT. Jamie is also currently collaborating on SNAP2 RCT, which is testing the effectiveness of remote self-management in a multi-centre RCT at more than 15 NHS sites, and which started recruitment this Autumn. Jamie also works on the MRC Funded HyPrevent programme within the Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility, and in an exciting expansion of the POP-HT trial, the HyPrevent team will be working with the University of Pennsylvania to help them develop a new trial to compare effectiveness of remote blood pressure monitoring on blood pressure, cardiac function and patient-reported outcomes among postpartum individuals with hypertension in the US. The team are delighted this trial was awarded a $12 million PCORI Research Grant in December 2024.
Finally, the team are due to submit a British Heart Foundation Consultant Research Award this coming February to follow up the POP-HT cohort who are now approximately five years post-partum. The aim is to determine if the same long-term improvements evident in the pilot SNAP-HT Extension study (Short-Term Postpartum Blood Pressure Self-Management and Long-Term Blood Pressure Control: A Randomized Controlled Trial | Hypertension), which Jamie carried out early in his DPhil, are also seen in POP-HT.