New treatment strategies for cardiovascular diseas: a development and stem cell biology approach

Dr Sanjay Sinha is a British Heart Foundation (BHF) Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge. He completed medical training in Cambridge, followed by cardiology clinical training and a PhD in Manchester. Dr Sinha then carried out post-doctoral studies in the USA with Prof Gary Owens on smooth muscle biology before establishing an independent group at Cambridge. His research group is part of the WT-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute as well as the ‘Oxbridge’ BHF Centre for Regenerative Medicine. He is interested in how cardiovascular cells develop in the embryo and how this knowledge may be used to devise new treatments for heart disease. In particular, his lab has established novel human embryonic stem cell and induced pluripotent stem cell-based systems to aid developmental studies and generate human models of vascular diseases, in particular Marfan syndrome. His group is also investigating whether human pluripotent stem cell-derived cells may be used to regenerate the damaged heart, either by direct injection or by generating a vascularised next-generation tissue ‘patch’. He is a Consultant in Cardiology and he combines his research work with clinical duties at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, where he treats patients with a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases.