In December 2014 I joined the Cardiorespiratory Research Group as a Clinical Research Fellow. I will be investigating the use of inhaled furosemide on breathlessness in patients with chronic heart failure. I will also investigate its effect on experimentally induced breathlessness in healthy volunteers. The project has been awarded a grant from the British Heart Foundation.

Before joining the cardiorespiratory group I was a Cardiology Registrar working at the John Radcliffe Hospital, with 2 years of training remaining before applying for consultant posts. I decided to take time out of my clinical training to expand my knowledge and skills in research. Though my supervisor, Dr Dwight, who is a heart failure specialist at the John Radcliffe Hospital I heard about this project with Dr Moosavi at Brookes and jumped at the opportunity as it links perfectly with my long-term plan of being a heart failure specialist.

I have done some research previously, such as when I was an undergraduate student at Imperial College where I did a lab based project looking at muscarinic receptors in the bladder, and later in my training a clinical project assessing the effect of cabergoline on heart valves in patients with hyperprolactinaemia. I will be taking a lead role in running this clinical trial and this will enable me to gain skills that allow me to continue to be active in research once I return to finish my cardiology training in 3 years time.

In progress – Gamble J, Grogono, J, Rajappan K, Betts T, Bashir Y, Khiani R. Air entrapment around the subcutaneous ICD lead electrode as a cause of inappropriate shock – frequency of clinical and radiographic findings Tan, T., Cabrita, I. Z., Hensman, D., Grogono, J., Dhillo, W. S., Baynes, K. C., Eliahoo, J., Meeran, K., Robinson, S., Nihoyannopoulos, P. and Martin, N. M. (2010), ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Assessment of cardiac valve dysfunction in patients receiving cabergoline treatment for hyperprolactinaemia. Clinical Endocrinology, 73: 369–374. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2010.03827.x Mukerji G(1), Yiangou Y, Grogono J, Underwood J, Agarwal SK, Khullar V, Anand P. Localization of M2 and M3 muscarinic receptors in human bladder disorders and their clinical correlations. J Urol. 2006 Jul;176(1):367-73.