There’s no easy way to describe the work of Sarah George, Professor of Cardiovascular Signalling at Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI). She is the Principle Investigator of her own research group, responsible for directing the group’s research and fundraising to support it, and she is Head of Section for Cardiovascular Surgery and Vascular Biology. This means line-managing staff employed by the University, including other senior research directors and colleagues with varied clinical, teaching and research responsibilities. 

As a Bristol University academic in the School of Clinical Sciences, teaching is also an important part of her role. Sarah delivers lectures and seminars for final-year undergraduates and teaches on MSc programmes. She is currently in the throes of setting up a brand new taught Masters programme in Translational Cardiovascular Medicine, an innovative new distance-learning programme which uses an e-learning system, and targets students who are already working or who have family commitments.

“My teaching is led by research and practice; with the latest findings from the lab making their way into the lecture theatre. This brings cardiovascular medicine to life, making it much more inspiring for the students,” said Sarah.

As Head of Section, Sarah assists with ensuring that all the research and teaching spaces, equipment and facilities meet the required standards expected of a research-intensive university and a leading British hospital. She also represents the views of her section at school meetings as well as sitting on various high level committees including the Steering Committee of the Bristol Heart Institute (BHI) and the University's Senate. Clearly the demands on Sarah’s time are many, but she is very ‘hands-on’ and tries to get into the laboratory whenever she can. This keeps her in touch with the latest research methods, techniques and equipment, as well as the teams running the research and the issues that they face each day.

“I’m a basic scientist and I get a real buzz from looking down a microscope,” said Sarah.  “Inevitably, as you take on management roles, you tend to move away from the science that drew you here in the first place.”

Of course, the complexity and scale of her job mean that she can’t go into the laboratory as often as she might like, and she needs to maintain the right balance with  her more office-based work. Sarah also has to factor in dividing her time between work and her family: she has two young daughters.

“I am lucky in that I am able to manage my time quite flexibly, allowing me to pop out to a school assembly during the day if needs be,” she said. “My daughter’s school isn’t far from work, so I can be out and back without disrupting my day while still being there for her. My husband also works in the same field and is incredibly supportive.”

Since having her family, Sarah’s official day in the hospital has to end at 5 pm when she leaves to pick up her children. Despite this, she often switches the computer back on again in the evenings, but only after the children’s bedtime.

“My team knows that I may be out of contact between 5 pm and 8 pm, but that usually, I’m checking emails or doing additional work later in the evenings and at weekends,” said Sarah.

 “We are increasing our expertise in cardiovascular signalling in both adult and paediatric research, and developing specialisms in niche areas such as Down’s Syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and periodontitis patients,” said Sarah. “It’s a very exciting time to be involved in heart research in Bristol.”

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