Professor Martin Bennett
BHF Professor Cardiovascular Sciences
Head, Section of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Medicine
Director, BHF Cambridge Centre for Research Excellence
Director, Cardiovascular Interdisciplinary Research Centre
Email: mrb24@medschl.cam.ac.uk
PA Name: Irena Bruckner
PA Email: imb39@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Biography
I trained in Cardiology in Birmingham and Cambridge, and currently hold the British Heart Foundation Chair of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Cambridge, with Honorary Consultant Cardiologist positions at Cambridge University and Royal Papworth Hospitals.. My major research interest is the vascular biology of atherosclerosis, particularly the role of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, death and cell senescence., with a focus on stimuli such as DNA damage and agents such as sirtuins to prevent vascular disease. My clinical research programme examines the ability of invasive and non-invasive coronary artery imaging to identify vulnerable plaques, focussing particularly on VH-IVUS and OCT, using both biomechanical analysis of plaque structure and AI-based diagnosis of high-risk plaques.
Research Approach:
We use cell and tissue culture, advanced imaging and molecular techniques such as RNAseq and virus-mediated gene transfer to examine regulatory pathways in vascular smooth muscle cell death, proliferation and senescence, coupled with in vivo models of atherosclerosis and vessel injury. For intracoronary imaging studies we use our own and collaborative studies of VH-IVUS and OCT to identify high-risk plaques, coupled with biomechanical modelling and AI-based diagnosis.
Current projects:
- Causes, consequences, and therapeutic potential of cell senescence in atherosclerosis
- Preventing vascular damage after radiotherapy and chemotherapy
- Biomechanical Indices for Coronary Lesion Rupture Risk and Lesion US Prognostication
- Novel mechanisms mediating stress-induced premature senescence in cardiovascular disease
- Regulation of vascular stiffness in arterial aging
- Fully automated systems for unbiased coronary artery disease evaluation for drug efficacy studies and risk prediction
- Interactive Platforms for Automated Analysis of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Images of Coronary Arteries.
- Biomechanical assessment of plaque vulnerability
Selected Publications:
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Wang, J, Uryga, AK, Reinhold, J, Figg, N, Baker, L, Finigan, A, Gray, K, Kumar, S, Clarke, MCH, Bennett, MR. Vascular smooth muscle cell senescence promotes atherosclerosis and features of plaque vulnerability. Circulation, 2015, 132: 1909-191
- Brown, AJ, Obaid, DR, Costopoulos, C Parker, RA, Calvert, PA, Teng, Z, Hoole, SP, West, NEJ, Goddard, M, Bennett, MR. Direct comparison of virtual-histology intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography imaging for identification of thin-cap fibroatheroma. Circulation Cardiovascular Imaging. 2015. e003487. doi: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.115.003487.
- Shah, A, Gray, K, Figg, NL, Finigan, A, Starks, L, Bennett, MR. Defective base excision repair of oxidative DNA damage in vascular smooth muscle cells promotes atherosclerosis. Circulation 2018. 138:1446–1462. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.033249
- Costopoulos, C, Timmins, LH, Huang, Y, Hung, OY, Molony, DS, Brown, AJ, Davis, EL, Teng, Z, Gillard, JH, Samady, H, Bennett, MR. Impact of combined plaque structural stress and wall shear stress on coronary plaque progression, regression and changes in composition. Eur Heart J. 2019. 40: 1411-22
- Grootaert, M, Finigan, A, Figg, A, Uryga, A, Bennett, MR. SIRT6 deacetylase is essential to protect vascular smooth muscle cells from senescence and against atherosclerosis. Circ Res 2021. 124:474-491.DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.318353
