Biography
Professor Bennett trained in Cardiology in Birmingham and Cambridge, and currently holds the British Heart Foundation Chair of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Cambridge, with Honorary Consultant Cardiologist positions at Cambridge University and Royal Papworth Hospitals. He directs the BHF Cambridge Centre for Research Excellence, the Cambridge Cardiovascular Interdisciplinary Research Centre, and the NIHR Cambridge BRC Cardiovascular and Respiratory Theme, and is Head of the Section of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine.
Research
We use both cells in vitro and models of atherosclerosis with genetic manipulation to study the role of specific gene products or cells in atherosclerosis. In particular, we developed unique cell-type ablation or expression systems to analyse the role of specific cells in vivo, particularly vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Recent work has focussed on the protective mechanisms that regulate VSMC survival and cell senescence, novel mechanisms of regulating cell death receptors in vascular cells, and how cell:cell interactions govern cell death and senescence.
Our clinical studies have used radiofrequency (virtual histology) intravascular ultrasound and computed tomography to determine the types and composition of plaques that determine patient presentation and future events. Working with engineering we have shown that plaque stress is increased in high-risk plaques and greatly augments the predictive ability of intracoronary imaging. We have also built AI-based software for intracoronary OCT, validated its efficacy against post-mortem histology and both drug and natural history human studies, and raised over £1.9M for its commercialisation.
Publications
Please follow the link to PubMed for a full list of publications.
Key recent publications:
Jessney, B, Chen, Xu, Gu, S, Brown, A, Obaid, D, Costopoulos, C, Goddard, M, Shah, N, Garcia-Garcia, H, Hoole, S, Mahmoudi, M, Roberts, M, Bennett, M. Correcting Common OCT Artifacts Enhances Plaque Classification and Identification of Higher-Risk Plaque Features. Catheter Revasc Med 2024. In press. doi: 10.1016/j.carrev.2024.06.023
Lambert, J, Oc, S, Worssam, MD, Häußler, D, Figg, N, Baxter, R, Foote, K, Finigan, N, Krishnakumar, A, Palmer, J, Bennett, MR, Krüger, A, Spivakov, M, Jørgensen, HF. Network-based prioritisation and validation of novel regulators of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation in disease. Nature Cardiovascular 2024, 3;714–733.
Foote, K, Rienks, M, Schmidt, L, Theofilatos, K, Yasmin, Ozols, M, Eckersley, A, Shah, A, Figg, N, Finigan, A, O’Shaughnessy, K, Wilkinson, IB, Mayr, M, Bennett, MR. Oxidative DNA damage promotes vascular ageing associated with changes in extracellular matrix-regulating proteins. Cardiovasc Res 2024. In press doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvae091
Pyrillou, K, Humphry, M, Kitt, L, Rodgers, A, Sage, AP, Bennett, MR, Smith, KGC, Lyons, P, Mallat, Z, Clarke, MHC, Loss of T follicular regulatory cell-derived IL-1R2 augments germinal centre reactions via increased IL-1. J Clin Invest Insight 2024. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.174005
Gu, S, Ahmed, ME, Huang Y, Hakim, D, Maynard, C, Cefalo, NV, Coskun, AU, Charis Costopoulos, C, Maehara, A, Stone1, GW, Stone, PS, Bennett, MR. Comprehensive biomechanical and anatomical atherosclerotic plaque metrics predict major adverse cardiovascular events: A new tool for clinical decision making. Atherosclerosis. 2024 Mar;390:117449. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2024.117449
Worssam, M, Lambert, J, Oc, S, Taylor, JCK, Taylor, AL, Dobnikar, L, Chappell, J, Harman, JL, Figg, NL, Finigan, A, Foote, K, Uryga, AK, Bennett, MR, Spivakov, M, Jørgensen, HF. Cellular mechanisms of oligoclonal vascular smooth muscle cell expansion in cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular Research 2023 119, 1279 – 1294. doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvac138.
Schoenmakers, E, Marelli, F, Jørgensen, HF, Visser, WE, Moran, C, Groeneweg, S, Avalos, C, Jurgens7, SJ, Figg, N, Finigan, A, Wali, N, Agostini, M, Wardle-Jones, H, Lyons, G, Rusk, R, Gopalan, D, Twiss, P, Visser, J, Goddard, M, Nashef, SAM, Heijmen, R, Clift, P, Sinha, S, Pirruccello, JP, Ellinor, PT, Busch-Nentwich, E, Ramirez-Solis, R, Persani, L, Bennett, MR, Chatterjee, K. Selenoprotein deficiency disorder predisposes to aortic aneurysm formation. Nature Communications. Nature Communications. 2023. 14, 7994. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-43851
Burzynski, LC, Morales-Maldonado, MA, Rodgers, A, Kitt, LA, Humphry, M, Figg, N, Bennett, MR, Clarke, MHC. Thrombin-activated interleukin-1α drives atherogenesis, but also promotes vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and collagen production. Cardiovascular Res 2023. 119: 2179-2189. doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvad091
Gu, SZ, Huang, Y, Costopoulos, C, Jessney, B, Bourantas, B, Teng, Z, Losdat, S, Maehara, A, Räber, L, Stone, GW, Bennett, M. Heterogeneous plaque-lumen geometry is associated with major adverse cardiovascular events. EHJ Open. 2023. 3, oead038. doi.org/10.1093/ehjopen/oead038
Ćorović, A, Wall, C, Nus, M, Gopalan, D, Huang, Y, Imaz, M, Zulcinski, M, Peverelli, M, Uryga, A, Bressan, D, Maughan, RT, Pericleous, C, Dubash, S, Jordan, N, Jayne, DR, Hoole, S, Calvert, PA, Dean, AF, Rassl, D, Barwick, T, Iles, M, Frontini, M, Hannon, G, Manavaki, R, Fryer, TD, Aloj, L, Graves, MJ, Gilbert, FJ, Dweck, MR, Newby, DE, Fayad, ZA, Reynolds, G, Morgan, AW, Aboagye, EO, Davenport, AP, Jørgensen, HF, Mallat, Z, Bennett, MR, Peters, JE, Rudd, JHF, Mason, JC, Tarkin, J. Somatostatin receptor 2 PET/MR imaging of inflammatory disease activity in large vessel vasculitis and atherosclerosis. JACC 2023. 83: 336–354. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2022.10.034
Ćorović, A, Gopalan, D, Wall, C, Peverelli, M, Hoole, SP, Calvert, PA, Manavaki, R, Fryer, TD, Aloj, L Graves, MJ, Bennett, MR, Rudd, JHF, Tarkin, JM. Novel Approach for Assessing Postinfarct Myocardial Injury and Inflammation Using Hybrid Somatostatin Receptor Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2023 16:e014538. doi/epub/10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.122.014538
Gu, SZ, Costopoulos, C, Huang, Y, Bourantas, C, Woolf, A, Sun, C, Teng, Z, Losdat, S, Räber, L, Samady, S, Bennett, MR. High-intensity Statins Reduce Plaque Structural Stress through Remodeling Artery Geometry and Plaque Architecture, Eur Heart J Open. 2021. 1, 1-13. doi.org/10.1093/ehjopen/oeab039
Garrido, AM*, Kaistha, A*, Uryga, AK, Oc, S, Foote, K, Shah, A, Finigan, A, Figg, N, Dobnikar, L, Jørgensen, HJ, Bennett, MR. Efficacy and limitations of senolysis in atherosclerosis. Cardiovasc Res 2022. 118: 1713–1727. doi 10.1093/cvr/cvab208. *equal contribution.
Uryga, AK, Grootaert, M, Garrido, A, Oc, S, Foote, K, Chappell, J, Finigan, F, Rossiello, F, d’Adda di Fagagna, F, Aravani, D, Jorgensen, H, Bennett, MR. Telomere damage promotes vascular smooth muscle cell senescence and immune cell recruitment after vessel injury. Communication Biology. 4, Article number: 611 (2021) doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02123-z
Grootaert, M, Finigan, A, Figg, A, Uryga, A, Bennett, MR. SIRT6 deacetylase is essential to protect vascular smooth muscle cells from senescence and against atherosclerosis. Circ Res 2021. 124:474-491. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.318353
