Lecturer in Cardiac Electrophysiology

Senior Research Fellow. Department of Cardiac Electrophysiology, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, UK.

Senior Research Fellow. Cardiovascular Division, Department of Cardiology, The Rayne Institute, King’s College London, UK.

Honorary Lecturer/Senior Research Fellow. Centre for Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Medicine, University College London, UK.

Assistant Professor. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait.

Postdoctoral Fellow. Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, University of Nevada, USA.

Research Fellow (PhD student). Physiology Department, University of Manitoba, Canada.

Honorary posts: 2013-present Director of Translational Research. Ashford and St Peters NHS Foundation Trust, UK. 2013-present Honorary Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh, USA. 2012-present Physiological Society representative for the University of Surrey 2008-2010 Honorary Teaching Fellow, Department of Physiology, Royal Free and University College Medical School. 2002-2008 Professional Development Spine Tutor/facilitator, Academic Centre for Medical Education, Medical Education, University College London.

Research profile: My research concerns the characterisation of intracellular and intercellular signalling pathways, primarily in cardiac and smooth muscle, in relation to normal and pathological excitation-contraction coupling. In particular, I am interested in evaluating these signalling pathways to explain the fundamental processes regulating: excitation and conduction of electrical signals; generation of contractile force; regulation of cell growth. I have translated these fundamental studies to characterise the basic intracellular and intercellular changes that underlie pathological situations associated with the heart (e.g. arrhythmias, heart failure, hypertrophic muscle growth) and smooth muscle organs (e.g. pulmonary hypertension, atherosclerosis, overactive bladder). My work involves investigative laboratory experimentation with well-characterised animal models of normal function and human pathological conditions, as well as collaboration with clinicians to extend this work to the use of tissues obtained from patients with clinically characterised pathological conditions.

My particular expertise, for which I have international recognition, is concerned with the role of intracellular phosphatises and kinases to regulate the activity of several key stages concerned with electrical signal transmission, contractile regulation and tissue growth and development. I have pioneered studies that have characterised the role of the intracellular Ca2+-dependent phosphatase, calcineurin, in these fundamental physiological pathways

Current Research Interests These explore the role of serine-threonine protein phosphatase 3, calcineurin, its intracellular targets and the contribution it has to the normal and pathological function of cardiac and visceral smooth muscle organs. In particular I am investigating:

1. The regulation of gap junction and ion channel function in myocardium, including tissue from patients with atrial fibrillation and animal models of left ventricular hypertrophy. This is motivated to understand the cell and tissue basis of cardiac arrhythmias.

2. Regulation by intracellular phosphatases of myocardial and visceral organ hypertrophy and characterisation of consequent changes to the key intracellular regulatory pathways associated with pathologies such as cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial failure, benign lower urinary tract disorders and initiation of visceral pain.

3. Protocols to devise and validating more accurate methods to measure the electrical properties of cells (e.g. with impedance and dielectrophoresis methodologies) to generate more reliable experimental models to evaluate the action of the above phosphatises and kinases.

4. Investigation of the role of the above intracellular signalling pathways to control chronobiological rhythms and their association with atrial fibrillation.

Gray RP, Dhillon P, Jacques A, Walker JM, Jabr RI, Marston S, Peters NS, McKenna W, Fry CH (2014). Electromechanical properties of isolated myocardium from patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. Circulation (Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology) - under revision. Fry CH, Gray RP, Dhillon PS, Jabr RI, Patel PM, Peters NS (2014). Relationship between intracellular conductance, action potential conduction, gap junction topology and tissue architecture in guinea-pig left ventricular hypertrophy. Circulation (Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology) - under revision Dhillon PS, Chowdhury RA, Patel PM, Jabr R, Momin AU, Vecht J, Gray R, Shipolini A, Fry CH, Peters NS. (2014) Relationship between connexin expression and gap-junction resistivity in human atrial myocardium. Circulation (Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology):1: 7: 321-329. Fry CH and Jabr RI. (2014) T-type Ca2+ channels and the urinary and male genital tracts. Pflügers Archives – European Journal of Physiology: 466: 781–789. Paul MA, Mesquita RF, Jabr R, Marber MS, Brain SD, Mahadeo VB, Heads RJ (2014). Protein kinase-C epsilon regulates cardiac fibroblast phenotype by transcriptional co-operation with calcineurin via TLR4 and COX-2. Molecular and Cellular Biology; 34: 574-594 Dhillon PD, Gray R, Kojodjojo P, Jabr R, Chowdhury R, Fry CH, Peters NS (2013). The relationship between gap junction conductance and conduction velocity in mammalian myocardium. Circulation Electrophysiology and Arrhythmias: 6: 1208-1214. Fahmi A, Smart N, Punn A, Jabr R, Marber M, Heads R (2013). p42/p44-MAPK and PI3K are Sufficient for IL-6 Family Cytokines/gp130 to Signal to Hypertrophy and Survival in Cardiomyocytes in the Absence of JAK/STAT Activation. Cell Signalling: 25: 898-909. Fry CH, Salvage SC, Manazza A, Dupont E, Labeed FH, Hughes MP, Jabr RI (2012). Cytoplasm resistivity of mammalian atrial myocardium determined by dielectrophoresis and impedance methods. Biophysical Journal: 103: 2287-2294. Fry CH, Young JS, Jabr RI, McCarthy C, Ikeda Y, Kanai AJ (2012). Modulation of spontaneous activity in the overactive bladder - the role of P2Y agonists. American Journal of Physiology, Renal Physiology: 302: F1447-1454. Wyndaele JJ, Gammie A, Bruschini H, De Wachter S, Fry CH, Jabr RI, Kirschner-Hermanns R, Madersbacher H (2011). Bladder compliance what does it represent: can we measure it, and is it clinically relevant? Neurourology and Urodynamics: 30: 714-722.