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Adam Braithwaite

BSc (hons.), MRes, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Mechanisms of hyperglycaemia-induced cellular changes and trained immunity in diabetes

As a Postdoctoral Researcher in Professor Robin Choudhury's group, I am investigating the mechanisms by which hyperglycaemia leads to epigenetic reprogramming of bone marrow stems cells and a persistent pro-inflammatory, pro-atherosclerotic phenotype. I am also investigating the early hyperglycaemia-induced transcriptional and epigenetic changes in cells of the heart, kidney and liver associated with diabetes using single cell sequencing techniques.

Cardiovascular events and atherosclerosis are a leading cause of death in patients with diabetes, even after blood glucose levels are reduced by pharmacological intervention. A key effect of hyperglycaemia is the reprogramming of myeloid cells to a pro-inflammatory phenotype, which persists after hyperglycaemia is corrected. However, the mechanisms of this reprogramming remain to be fully elucidated.

I obtained my BSc in Medical Microbiology at the University of Leeds, including a 1-year internship researching the genetics of neurodegenerative diseases at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville FL. I went on to carry out research and complete an MRes at Imperial College London, exploring the molecular causes of cardiovascular diseases including cardiomyopathy and hypertension. I then undertook Doctoral research training at the University of Sheffield, specialising in pulmonary vascular disease. My PhD thesis aimed to elucidate the divergent roles of the cytokine TRAIL in pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary fibrosis. In 2019 I moved to the University of Oxford to pursue further cardiovascular research as a Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded Postdoctoral scientist.

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