Case studies

Dr Jenny Myers: Prediction and prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes in woman with chronic vascular disease

In 2012 clinicians from The Manchester Antenatal Vascular Service (MAViS) based at St Mary’s Hospital Manchester, were successfully awarded an NIHR Clinician Scientist Award. The grant totalling £915,000 was achieved with the support of the RDS NW following an advice request from the Chief Investigator, Dr Jenny Myers.  The RDS offers free specialist advice on all aspects of an application and in this case were able to assist with the design of the prospective study which sought to investigate the clinical utility of measuring blood vessel relaxation using a highly sensitive blood pressure machine. This pilot trial will assess the efficacy, safety and acceptability of targeted therapy. The clinic with its unique specialist…

Miss Cliona Kirwan: The Thrombin Pathway in Breast Cancer Dis-semination: a potential biomarker and novel therapeutic target

In 2012, Miss Cliona Kirwan, a consultant in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery, was awarded an NIHR Clinician Scientist Award to investigate the relationship between cancer and the clotting system. It is well recognised that cancer increases the risk of patients developing clots in the leg (deep vein thrombosis) and clots in the lung (pulmonary embolism). Increasingly it is being recognised that the relationship between cancer and clotting works two ways. It appears that the clotting system may help cancers grow and spread. Miss Kirwan has been awarded £1.3 million to perform a programme of work that will investigate this relationship between cancer and clotting. She aims to develop methods of targeting the…