Dr Juma El-Awaisi

Dr Juma El-Awaisi

Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
Birmingham Springboard Fellow
Asthma + Lung UK Fellow

Contact details

Telephone
(+44) 01214144131
Email
j.elawaisi@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@jawaisi
View my research portal
Address
Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
School of Medical Sciences
College of Medicine and Health
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Juma El-Awaisi is a Birmingham Springboard and Asthma + Lung UK Fellow based in the School of Medical Sciences. His research interests focus on cardio-respiratory thromboinflammation, addressing both acute conditions (heart attacks, COPD flare-ups) and chronic diseases (COPD, heart failure), and the development of new therapeutics to limit tissue damage. He is also interested in the impact of ageing and sex on heart and lung disease, particularly in relation to the smallest blood vessels. Dr El-Awaisi’s interests extend to the application and development of advanced microscopy techniques, including intravital, multiphoton, and laser Speckle imaging, for microvascular studies.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences 2019 - 2022
  • MSc in Advanced Pharmacology 2018 - 2019
  • BSc in Clinical Pharmacy 2008 - 2013

Biography

Dr Juma El-Awaisi completed his undergraduate degree and training in 2013 at the age of 20. Afterward, he shifted focus to entrepreneurship, co-founding a technology startup, while also completing a Master’s in Advanced Pharmacology, investigating the role of bitter taste receptors in chronic lung diseases. Juma then completed a PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences, exploring the role of inflammation in myocardial infarction. Following his doctoral studies, he further investigated the impact of diabetes and hyperglycaemia on the coronary microcirculation, identifying that diet reversal can have similar cardioprotective effects as anti-inflammatory therapeutics.

Since his fellowship awards in 2025, Dr El-Awaisi has further developed his research in inflammatory lung and heart disease, focusing on three main areas:

1. Characterising the role of neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps in driving lung-induced cardiac complications to allow therapeutic modification.

2. Investigating the role of immune cell dissemination across organs in driving disease pathology.

3. Integrating AI with omics and clinical imaging to develop unique digital disease fingerprints.

Dr El-Awaisi is a strong advocate for merging research with technology.

Other activities

  • British Society for Cardiovascular Research committee member: 2025 – 2028
  • British Microcirculation and Vascular Biology Society committee member: 2020 – 2023

Publications

Recent publications

Article

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D, Heising, S, Maria Schiessl, I, Cleary, S, Hodson, D & Kalia, N 2025, 'Impact of chronic hyperglycaemia on the coronary microcirculation - benefits of targeting IL-36 and diet reversal', Basic research in cardiology. https://doi.org/1007/s00395-025-01107-y

El-awaisi, J, Perrella, G, Mayer, N, Tinkova, V, Simon, CJ, Grygielska, B, Watson, SP, Dimitrov, JD, Brill, A, Hassan, E, Nicolson, PLR, Kavanagh, D, Kalia, N & Rayes, J 2025, 'Spleen tyrosine kinase inhibition mitigates hemin-induced thromboinflammation in an organ-specific manner in sickle cell mice', Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.124.32207

Bourne, JH, Perrella, G, El-Awaisi, J, Terry, LV, Tinkova, V, Hogg, RL, Gant, P, Grygielska, B, Kalia, N, Kavanagh, D, Brill, A, Dimitrov, JD, Watson, SP & Rayes, J 2024, 'Hydroxychloroquine inhibits hemolysis-induced arterial thrombosis ex vivo and improves lung perfusion in hemin-treated mice', Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, vol. 22, no. 7, pp. 2018-2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtha.2024.04.008

El-Awaisi, J, Kavanagh, DPJ & Kalia, N 2024, 'Monitoring coronary blood flow by laser speckle contrast imaging after myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury in adult and aged mice', Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, vol. 11, 1358472. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2024.1358472

Retzer, A, Ciytak, B, Khatsuria, F, El-awaisi, J, Harris, I, Chapman, L, Kelly, T, Richards, J, Lam, E, Newsome, P, Calvert, M & Gillett, C 2023, 'A toolkit for capturing a representative and equitable sample in health research', Nature Medicine, vol. 29, no. 12, pp. 3259–3267. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02665-1

El-Awaisi, J, Mitchell, JL, Ranasinghe, A & Kalia, N 2023, 'Interleukin-36 is vasculoprotective in both sexes despite sex-specific changes in the coronary microcirculation response to IR injury', Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, vol. 10, 1227499. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1227499

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D, Rink, M, Weston, C, Drury, N & Kalia, N 2022, 'Targeting IL-36 improves age-related coronary microcirculatory dysfunction and attenuates myocardial ischemia/ reperfusion injury in mice: ageing and the coronary microcirculation ', JCI Insight, vol. 7, no. 5, e155236. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.155236

El-awaisi, J 2016, 'Impact of Dermatologists’ Perceptions about Antibiotic Resistance on Antibiotic Prescribing for Acne.', Journal of Infectious Diseases and Therapy.

Abstract

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D, Rink, M, Weston, C, Drury, N & Kalia, N 2022, 'Intravital & laser speckle investigations of the role of interleukin-36 in myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury – a new therapeutic target for the aged heart', Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, vol. 173, no. supplement, pp. 7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yjmcc.2022.08.017

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D, Rink, M, Weston, C, Drury, N & Kalia, N 2022, 'Intravital & laser speckle investigations of the role of interleukin36 in myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury; a new therapeutic target for the aged heart', Cardiovascular Research, vol. 118, no. Supplement_1, cvac066.051. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac066.051

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D & Kalia, N 2021, 'BS13 Intravital investigations of the role of IL-36 in mediating age and gender specific changes in the injured beating coronary microcirculation', Heart, vol. 107, no. Suppl 1, A162. https://doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2021-BCS.211

Doctoral Thesis

El-awaisi, J 2022, 'Investigating a Novel Role for the IL-36 / IL-36R Pathway in Mediating Inflammation in the Adult and Aged Murine Heart after Ischaemia-Reperfusion Injury', ???thesis.qualification.phd???. <https://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/12701/>

Review article

Marriott, E, Singanayagam, A & El-Awaisi, J 2024, 'Inflammation as the nexus: exploring the link between acute myocardial infarction and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease', Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, vol. 11, 1362564. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2024.1362564

View all publications in research portal