Pok-Tin Tang

I am a cardiology registrar in the Thames Valley deanery, currently undergoing a period out of programme for research as a BHF-funded clinical research training fellow studying for a D. Phil in Medical Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Lewis, Dr. Rohan Wijesurendra, and Dr. Marco Spartera. I qualified from the University of Oxford (Brasenose College, 2011-2017), and underwent postgraduate medical training in the Thames Valley deanery, at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, as well as the surrounding district general hospitals, taking up a national training number in cardiology in 2022.

My research seeks to understand the effects of left atrial (LA) blood flow on atrial cellular function, with a particular focus on inflammation and thrombogenesis. I hope that my work will contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of atrial fibrillation (AF) and its relationship with ischaemic stroke, including the relevance of the emerging concept of atrial cardiomyopathy (describing the underlying structural and functional changes of the LA, that may precede and drive AF itself), by combining both cellular transcriptomic analyses and advanced cardiac imaging (four-dimensional flow cardiac magnetic resonance imaging). This work may help identify novel paradigms and therapeutic targets for stroke risk stratification and prevention (of AF and stroke).

Beyond my research work, I hold a variety of roles at major cardiology journals (current: JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology, European Heart Journal: Case Reports; previous Associate Commissioning Editor at Heart), and national committees (British Junior Cardiologists’ Association deanery representative). I am a keen footballer and have previously been in charge of the Doctors’ Mess football team at the John Radcliffe Hospital.