Professor Mark Kearney

Profile

I am a British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiovascular and Diabetes Research and clinical cardiologist with an interest in the mechanisms underlying diabetes related heart disease and the natural history and new treatments for patients with heart failure. My research group includes members with a wide range of skills addressing the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Within ten years over 500million people will suffer from type 2 diabetes which we now know is a disease of the large and small blood vessels.

My team are working on the link between changes in insulin and IGF-1 signalling in the blood vessel wall and diabetes with the aim of designing new ways of treating the devastating cardiovascular complications of type 2 diabetes. I am currently on the research committee of Diabetes UK having served on the project and fellowship committees of the British Heart Foundation. I am passionate about training tomorrow’s leaders in cardiovascular research.

Responsibilities

• BHF Professor of Cardiovascular and Diabetes Research
• Consultant Cardiologist

Research interests

Our laboratory is exploring the mechanistic link between endothelial function and insulin resistance.

Recent Papers

Witte KK, Drozd M, Walker AM, Patel P, Kearney JC, Chapman S, Sapsford RJ, Gierula J, Paton M, Lowry J, Cubbon RM. Mortality reduction associated with beta-adrenoceptor inhibition in chronic heart failure is greater in patients with diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care (With attached editorial)

Heywood NJ, Cordell PA, Yeun Tang K, Makova N, Yuldasheva NY, Imrie H, Viswambharan H, Bruns AF, Cubbon RM, Kearney MT, Wheatcroft SB. Insulin like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-1 could through its RGD domain improve glucose and insulin sensitivity. Diabetes 2017

Viswambharan H, Yuldasheva H, Sengupta A, Helen Imrie H, Gage M, Haywood N, Skromna A, Makova N, Galloway S, Shah P, Sukumar P, Porter KE, Grant PJ, Shah AM, Santos CXC, Li J, Beech DJ, Wheatcroft SB, Cubbon RM, Kearney MT. Selective enhancement of insulin sensitivity in the endothelium in vivo reveals a novel proatherosclerotic signalling loop. Circ. Res. 2017; 120:784-798. (With attached editorial).

British Heart Foundation (Renewal 2015)

Manipulating insulin like growth factor-1 receptor expression as a therapeutic strategy to control insulin sensitivity and tissue repair.

£1376166 over 5 years.

2015–2020.

British Heart Foundation Chair Award (Renewed 2018)

BHF Chair of Cardiovascular and Diabetes Research.

£1419667 over 5 years.

2018–2023.

Project grants

Dissecting the role of endothelial insulin-like growth factor-1 signalling in the vascular and metabolic complications of obesity-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus.

£299121 over 3 years.

2019-2022.

Qualifications

• MBChB
• FRCP
• DM

Professional memberships

• British Atherosclerosis Society

Student education

Dean of the School of Medicine

Research groups and institutes

• Discovery and Translational Science
• British Heart Foundation - Cardiovascular research
• Multidisciplinary Cardiovascular Research Centre