Professor David J Beech
- Position: Professor of Cardiovascular Science
- Areas of expertise: Calcium-permeable channels and mechanical force sensing in health and disease
- Email: D.J.Beech@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 4323
- Location: 7.27 LIGHT
- Website: Googlescholar | ORCID
Profile
After undergraduate studies at the University of Manchester and a PhD at St George’s Hospital Medical School London, I trained in biophysics at the University of Washington in Seattle before returning to the UK as a Wellcome Career Development Fellow. I am now Professor of Cardiovascular Science at the University of Leeds, Honorary Professor of Cardiovascular Science at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) and an elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Responsibilities
- Research Group Leader
- NIHR BRC Cardiometabolic Disease Theme Lead
- CalTIC GmbH partner
Research interests
I am particularly interested in how cardiovascular structures and functions are determined by mechanical factors acting through force-sensing PIEZO1 calcium-permeable channels, how PIEZO1 channels work at the molecular level and whether new therapeutic approaches might be achieved through the small-molecule modulation of PIEZO1 channels and other calcium-permeable channels formed by TRPC1/4/5 proteins.
I enjoy team science and collaborations across disciplines and am interested in the potential benefits of our research for patients, especially in the unsolved health problems of heart failure due to aortic stenosis and myocardial ischemia, physical exercise intolerance in heart failure, fetal growth restriction and small for size liver disease.
I am the Cardiometabolic Disease Theme Lead of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at the Universities of Leeds and York and the LTHT. I am a cofounding partner of the Calcium-permeable channel Therapeutic Innovation Company (CalTIC) that operates across sites in the UK and Germany. I am a coinvestigator of the Tommy’s National (UK) Centre for Preterm Birth Research through our mechanobiology studies of early life predispositions to adult cardiovascular disease.
Qualifications
- BSc Hons
- PhD
Professional memberships
- Academy of Medical Sciences
- Physiological Society
Student education
Primary supervisor, teacher and management group member of the British Heart Foundation 4-Year PhD Programme in Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes at Leeds
Current Postgraduate Researchers:
Sophie Earle
Shaili Krishnakant Patel
Harry Konstantinou
Amy Truesdale
Chloe Randall
Yurou Cai
Nora Almulhim
Henry Procter
Grace Adjei-Doku
Abeer Aldaswari
Kasia Hammond
Anna McGrane
Hannah Smith
Ryan Murray
Mohammed Ali
Muath Bajarwan
Michael Murray
Harriet Todd
Katie Smith
Research groups and institutes
- Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine
- Discovery and Translational Science
- British Heart Foundation - Cardiovascular research
- LICAMM - international PhD academy
Current postgraduate researchers
<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>Projects
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<li><a href="//phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/231-licamm-endothelial-piezo1-channels-of-human-placenta-and-their-physiological-roles">LICAMM Endothelial Piezo1 channels of human placenta and their physiological roles</a></li>
<li><a href="//phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/174-licamm-structural-insights-into-the-modulation-of-heteromeric-trpc1/4/5-channels">LICAMM Structural insights into the modulation of heteromeric TRPC1/4/5 channels</a></li>