Join us for a lunchtime lecture delivered by Dr Calum Wilson on 23 November at 13:30 in Hawthorn Building 00,05. Please book as we aim to provide catering after the talk.
Abstract of lecture:
Small arteries have muscular walls that contract and relax to control vessel diameter and so are able to increase or decrease the supply of blood to particular parts of the body. These blood vessels are also lined by a single layer network of endothelial cells that releases vasoactive factors to control smooth muscle cell function. But this endothelial control of vessel diameter is impaired or even lost altogether in cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and stroke.
Given the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, novel therapies for impaired endothelial function are urgently needed. However, mechanistic insight into endothelial dysfunction is limited. To pinpoint exactly how endothelial cells control blood vessel behaviour and what goes wrong in disease, Calum Wilson uses a variety of techniques to study the cells in the intact blood vessel wall. In this talk, Calum will outline his investigations that highlight an underappreciated, yet crucial, role for mitochondria in endothelial control of blood flow. Through such studies of fundamental blood vessel physiology, Calum hopes to lay the foundation for novel therapeutics targeting the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Details of prize lecture:
The R Jean Banister Prize Lecture is awarded to early career physiologists and is delivered in three or four locations across the UK and Ireland. The Society announces the awardee, following which, departments can invite them to their institutions to showcase his or her research. The prize is in memory of Jean Banister ( 1917 - 2013 ). Jean, a former teaching Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford, died on 15 February, aged 95. She had been a Member of The Society since 1950. Her research largely concentrated on the pulmonary vascular system. Jean is also remembered as a tireless champion of women’s education.
