Emma Yu
BHF Intermediate Clinical Research Fellow/Honorary Consultant Cardiologist
Email: epky2@cam.ac.uk
Biography
Dr Emma Yu is a BHF Intermediate Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Her main research interests are mitochondrial function and cardiovascular disease.
Dr Yu was awarded a BHF Clinical Research Fellowship to support her PhD studies, examining the role of mitochondrial DNA damage in atherosclerosis under Professor Martin Bennett. She won the British Atherosclerosis Society Young Investigator Award and was a Finalist in the British Cardiac Society Young Research Workers Prize.
She was subsequently awarded a NIHR Clinical Lectureship and is now establishing her independent research group as a BHF Intermediate Fellow. She combines her research with clinical work, seeing patients with a broad range of cardiovascular diseases at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
Research Approach:
Our aim is to improve the treatment options for cardiovascular disease and improve the outcomes for patients. We believe that understanding the mechanisms underlying the disease will help us to identify new targets for treatment.
We have highlighted that mitochondria are dysfunctional in atherosclerosis. Our work is now focussed on examining what factors regulate mitochondrial function in atherosclerosis and if targeting these pathways has beneficial effects. We use a wide variety of techniques, in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo, to characterise mitochondrial function and the impact on phenotype and disease.
Current projects:
Examining regulators of mitochondrial function in atherosclerosis
Examining mitochondrial function and efferocytosis
Selected Publications
1. Foote, K, Reinhold, J, Yu, EPK, Figg, NL, Finigan, A, Murphy, MP, Bennett, MR. Restoring mitochondrial DNA copy number preserves mitochondrial function and delays vascular aging in mice. Aging Cell 2018.e12773. doi: 10.1111/acel.12773.
2. Yu EPK, Reinhold J, Yu H, Starks L, Uryga AK, Foote K, Finigan A, Figg N, Pung YF, Logan A, Murphy MP, Bennett M. Mitochondrial respiration is reduced in atherosclerosis, promoting necrotic core formation and reducing relative fibrous cap thickness. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2017
3. Yu E, Calvert PA, Mercer JR, et al. Mitochondrial DNA damage can promote atherosclerosis independently of reactive oxygen species through effects on smooth muscle cells and monocytes and correlates with higher-risk plaques in humans. Circulation. 2013;128:702-712
4. Yu E, Bennett M. Mitochondrial DNA damage and atherosclerosis. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2014;25:481-487
5. Mercer JR., Yu E, Figg N, Cheng KK, Prime TA, Griffin JL, Masoodi M, Vidal-Puig A, Murphy MP, Bennett MR. The mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ decreases features of the metabolic syndrome in ATM+/-/ApoE-/- mice. Free Radic Biol Med.52:841-9.
Research collaborators/links you want added to your page:
Professor Martin Bennett
Professor Michael Murphy
Dr Albert Koulman
