Dr Ingrid Dumitriu
Dr Ingrid Dumitriu

Dr Ingrid Dumitriu has joined the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences from St George’s, University of London.

Dr Dumitriu's research investigates inflammation and immunomodulation in cardiovascular diseases (e.g. atherosclerosis, atrial fibrillation) and chronic inflammatory disorders. Her aim is to apply this knowledge to improve the risk stratification, selection into clinical trials, management and outcomes of patients with cardiovascular and inflammatory disorders.

The vibrant and friendly research community, the state of the art research facilities, and the strong translational ethos that focuses on harnessing research to improve patient care impressed me. It is a very exciting time to join the Institute as the University is one of six UK institutions to secure a BHF Accelerator Award.

This award recognises the strengths and potential of cardiovascular research in the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences. I look forward to working with my colleagues to deliver the ambitious future vision and strengthen the international profile of cardiovascular research in Birmingham.

My research thrives on fruitful collaborations with healthcare professionals (cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, vascular surgeons, pathologists, cardiology nurse practitioners and research nurses). I look forward to meeting new people and setting up collaborative research projects that aim to improve the management and outcome of patients with cardiovascular disorders. I’m excited at the prospect of working with new groups of undergraduate and postgraduate students, kindling their interest in cardiovascular and immunology research and supporting the development of highly skilled scientists and clinicians.

Developing and establishing my research niche in cardiovascular immunology at St George’s, University of London. I am very proud of my past students and postgraduate researchers who are now PhD students, medical trainees, clinical scientists in NHS laboratories, nurses and researchers in academia and industry.

Learning something new and working together with colleagues and students to unravel the complexities and beauty of the immune system. I also look forward to living in a new lively city and exploring the waterways, history and heritage that Birmingham and West Midlands have to offer.

Impressive strives have been made in the field of cardiovascular immunology research since I first joined it as a Lecturer. In the future, therapies that modulate the immune response in cardiovascular diseases will be part of the clinical management of patients. Immune therapies will not be employed indiscriminately in every patient but will form an integral arm of a precision medicine approach: deep phenotyping and immuno-phenotyping will help identify the patients who are most likely to benefit. And new tools to target pathological inflammation without compromising the physiological inflammatory responses crucial for tissue defence and repair will become available.