Professor Melanie Madhani

Dr Melanie Madhani

Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine

Contact details

Address
Cardiovascular Sciences
College of Medicine and Health
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Melanie Madhani leads a translational research group to understand the mechanism of hypertension, myocardial infarction and heart failure. Her research group is assessing novel pharmacological strategies to protect against these diseases with scientists and clinicians working together from “bench to bedside, and back again”. 

Biography

Melanie Madhani is a Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Birmingham. After graduating from the University of Wales College of Medicine in 1998, she obtained a PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences from the Ivy League School, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA and University of Wales in 2002. Melanie then joined University College London (UCL) as a British Heart Foundation research fellow, to work under Professor Adrian Hobbs. Here, she investigated the role of nitric oxide (NO) in cardiovascular diseases. Melanie was awarded a UCL Bogue Fellowship to work with Nobel Laureate Dr Louis Ignarro, University of California, LA, USA. In 2005, she joined Professor Philip Eaton's research group at The Rayne Institute, King's College London (KCL), where she broadened her experience in cardiac physiology in order to complement her vascular knowledge and skills into NO regulation during myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury. In 2009, the University of Birmingham appointed Melanie where she leads a research group in identifying novel therapeutic targets for cardiovascular diseases, with a particular interest on the redox regulation of nitrite and persulfides. In 2022, Melanie was awarded the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship Award for her outstanding research. She also holds an Adjunct Honorary Professor position at the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, where is she investigating ischaemic heart disease in the East Asian population.

Teaching

  • Lectures for Cardiovascular modules to BMed Sc, MBChB, and MRes  programmes
  • Personal Mentor for MBChB
  • Postgraduate supervision for basic scientists and clinicians

Postgraduate supervision

Professor Madhani has openings for self-funded MRes and PhD (basic science and clinical) in the area of:

  • Nitric oxide and nitrite in health and disease
  • Cardiometabolism in ischaemic heart disease and heart failure 

Research

Professor Madhani leads a research group to identify novel targets and intervention for hypertension, myocardial infarction and heart failure. Her research group is investigating:

  • Novel protective strategies against myocardial ischaemia reperfusion in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery
  • Assessing the protective role of nitrite and novel redox mediators against hypertension, myocardial reperfusion injury and heart failure
  • Perhexiline and cardiac metabolism in heart failure
  • Understanding the pathophysiology of ischaemic heart disease in the East Asian population

Research Groups and Centres

Madhani Lab

Other activities

  • MRC Experimental Medicine Grant Panel (2024-present)
  • NC3Rs Studentship Grant Assessment Panel Member (2020-present)
  • Treasurer for the British Society for Cardiovascular Research (2014-2019)
  • Adjunct Professor at the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Head of Global Engagement for the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences (2016- present)
  • Review Editor of Frontiers in Clinical & Translational Physiology (2009- present)
  • Associate Editor for International Journal for Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2006-2013)
  • Bulletin Editor for the British Society for Cardiovascular Research (2009-2013)

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Bilateral Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Children Trial Investigators, Drury, NE, Doorn, CV, Woolley, RL, Amos-Hirst, RJ, Bi, R, Spencer, CM, Morris, KP, Montgomerie, J, Stickley, J, Crucean, A, Gill, A, Hill, M, Weber, RJM, Najdekr, L, Jankevics, A, Southam, AD, Lloyd, GR, Jaber, O, Kassai, I, Pelella, G, Khan, NE, Botha, P, Barron, DJ, Madhani, M, Dunn, WB, Ives, NJ, Kirchhof, P & Jones, TJ 2024, 'Bilateral Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Children: a two-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial in young children undergoing cardiac surgery', The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, vol. 18, pp. 193-208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjon.2024.02.018

Griffiths, K, Grand, RJ, Horan, I, Certo, M, Keeler, RC, Mauro, C, Tseng, C-C, Greig, I, Morrell, NW, Zanda, M, Frenneaux, MP & Madhani, M 2024, 'Fluorinated perhexiline derivative attenuates vascular proliferation in pulmonary arterial hypertension smooth muscle cells', Vascular Pharmacology, vol. 156, 107399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vph.2024.107399

Griffiths, K, Ida, T, Morita, M, Lamb, RJ, Lee, JJ, Frenneaux, MP, Fukuto, JM, Akaike, T, Feelisch, M & Madhani, M 2023, 'Cysteine hydropersulfide reduces lipid peroxidation and protects against myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury: - Are endogenous persulfides mediators of ischaemic preconditioning?', Redox Biology, vol. 60, 102605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2023.102605

Griffiths, K, Lee, J, Frenneaux, M, Feelisch, M & Madhani, M 2021, 'Nitrite and myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury. Where are we now?', Pharmacology & Therapeutics, vol. 223, 107819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2021.107819

Drury, N, Bi, R, Woolley, R, Stickley, J, Morris, KP, Montgomerie, J, Doorn, CV, Dunn, W, Madhani, M, Ives, N, Kirchhof, P & Jones, T 2020, 'Bilateral Remote Ischaemic Conditioning in Children (BRICC) trial: protocol for a two-centre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial in young children undergoing cardiac surgery', BMJ open, vol. 10, no. 10, e042176. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042176

Feelisch, M, Akaike, T, Griffiths, K, Ida, T, Prysyahna, O, Goodwin, JJ, Gollop, ND, Fernandez, BO, Minnion, M, Cortese-Krott, MM, Borgognone, A, Hayes, RM, Eaton, P, Frenneaux, MP & Madhani, M 2020, 'Long-lasting blood pressure lowering effects of nitrite are NO-independent and mediated by hydrogen peroxide, persulfides, and oxidation of protein kinase G1α redox signalling', Cardiovascular Research, vol. 116, no. 1, pp. 51-62. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvz202

Sutton, TR, Minnion, M, Barbarino, F, Koster, G, fernandez, BO, Cumpstey, AF, Wischmann, P, Madhani, M, Frenneaux, MP, Postle, AD, Cortese-Krott, MM & Feelisch, M 2018, 'A robust and versatile mass spectrometry platform for comprehensive assessment of the thiol redox metabolome', Redox Biology, vol. 16, pp. 359-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2018.02.012

Borgognone, A, Shantsila, E, Worrall, S, Prompunt, E, Loka, T, Loudon, BL, Chimen, M, Rainger, E, Lord, JM, Turner, A, Nightingale, P, Feelisch, M, Kirchhof, P, Lip, G, Watson, SP, Frenneaux, MP & Madhani, M 2018, 'Nitrite circumvents platelet resistance to nitric oxide in patients with heart failure preserved ejection fraction and chronic atrial fibrillation', Cardiovascular Research, vol. 114, pp. 1313–1323. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvy087

Noordali, H, Loudon, B, Frenneaux, M & Madhani, M 2017, 'Cardiac metabolism - a promising therapeutic target for heart failure', Pharmacology & Therapeutics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2017.08.001

Madhani, M 2017, 'Development of Fluorinated Analogues of Perhexiline with Improved Pharmacokinetic Properties and Retained Efficacy', Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 60, no. 7, pp. 2780-2789. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b01592

Madhani, M 2017, 'Inorganic Nitrate in Angina Study: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial', Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 6, no. 9, e006478. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.006478

Madhani, M, Noordali, H, Frenneaux, M, Loudon, B & Gollop, ND 2016, 'Present and future pharmacotherapeutic agents in heart failure: An evolving paradigm', British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 173 , no. 12, pp. 1911-1924. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.13480

Arif, S, Borgognone, A, Lin, EL, O'sullivan, AG, Sharma, V, Drury, NE, Menon, A, Nightingale, P, Mascaro, J, Bonser, RS, Horowitz, JD, Feelisch, M, Frenneaux, MP & Madhani, M 2015, 'Role of aldehyde dehydrogenase in hypoxic vasodilator effects of nitrite in rats and humans', British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 172, no. 13, pp. 3341-3352. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.13122

Ormerod, JOM, Arif, S, Mukadam, M, Evans, JDW, Beadle, R, Fernandez, BO, Bonser, RS, Feelisch, M, Madhani, M & Frenneaux, MP 2015, 'Short-term intravenous sodium nitrite infusion improves cardiac and pulmonary hemodynamics in heart failure patients', Circulation. Heart failure, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 565-571. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.114.001716

Review article

Lamb, RJ, Griffiths, K, Lip, GYH, Sorokin, V, Frenneaux, MP, Feelisch, M & Madhani, M 2024, 'ALDH2 polymorphism and myocardial infarction: From alcohol metabolism to redox regulation', Pharmacology & Therapeutics, vol. 259, 108666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2024.108666

View all publications in research portal