Calcium measurement in the heart; the how and the why

The mammalian heart is a muscular pump that propels the circulation of blood. The force required for this is generated by the billions of cells, named cardiac myocytes, that form cardiac muscle. This is because during each heartbeat, and in each myocyte, calcium levels rise causing the cell to contract. Calcium levels then fall to permit cell relaxation. This calcium transient is coordinated by a sequence of events known as excitation-contraction coupling, which is strictly regulated in health and frequently dysregulated in heart disease.  

During his professorial inaugural lecture, David will share his journey as a cardiac cellular physiologist and thank the many mentors and colleagues who helped him along the way. David will then provide an overview of the techniques employed by scientists to measure calcium in heart cells, and how this has improved our understanding of the cellular basis of heart health and disease. In doing so, he will also highlight some of the contributions he and his collaborators have made to the field. 

Professor David Greensmith - Biography

In 2005, David graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Biological Sciences. He then completed a PhD and two postdoctoral positions in cardiac physiology with Professors Mahesh Nirmalan, David Eisner and Andrew Trafford at the University of Manchester. In 2014, David returned to the University of Salford as a lecturer in Biomedical Science where he is now Professor of Cardiac Physiology and Associate Dean International (ADI) in the School of Science, Engineering and Environment.  

As a principal investigator, David leads a cardiac research group that investigates the cellular basis of the heart's normal function and its dysfunction in disease. His group has secured over £1.1M in funding and he has co-authored 22 high-impact journal publications. David is Associate Editor for the international journal Current Research in Physiology, twice-elected committee member of the British Society for Cardiovascular Research (BSCR) and Physiological Society representative. In January 2025, he began his term as President of the BSCR and was also appointed as Scientific Director of the childhood cancer research charity, KidsCan. 

 As ADI, David developed the school’s international strategy with three foci: (1) expand and diversify partnerships (2) grow and diversify recruitment and (3) globalise all students. Furthermore, David remains a passionate educator, and for his collective contributions to equity, diversity, and inclusion, received the 2019 Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the 2023 Physiological Society Otto Hutter Teaching Prize and Lecture. 

Registration is from 5.30pm with the lecture starting promptly at 6pm.

This lecture will be live streamed via Microsoft Teams Live from 6pm . If you would prefer to attend online, please register for a 'Teams Live' ticket to receive the Live event link which will be emailed to you the day before the lecture.

This lecture will be recorded however the audience will not be shown. By attending this event in-person, you consent to this recording.

If you have any questions or access requirements please get in touch with the Events Team on events@salford.ac.uk or 0161 295 2313.