Professor Sarah George
B.Sc., Ph.D.(Wales)
Current positions
Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences
Health Sciences Faculty Office
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
Coronary artery bypass surgery is a popular surgical technique used to treat patients with heart disease. The first coronary artery bypass was performed in 1960, but despite enhanced surgical techniques over the last 50 years, this surgery technique still requires improvement as the grafts themselves become diseased. Our research looks into the mechanisms underlying the failure of bypass grafts, by studying the behaviour of the smooth muscle cells in the graft.
We are currently examining a relatively unstudied area; the role of cell-cell contacts via cadherins in the regulation of smooth muscle cell behaviour and cardiovascular disease.
Our studies have demonstrated that this is a very interesting and multi-faceted area. We have observed that N-cadherin regulates smooth muscle cell behaviour including cell proliferation, migration and survival. We have also observed that this is due in part by initiating transcription of specific genes involved in smooth muscle cell behaviour via ß-catenin.
We have also become interested in a family of proteins called WNTs. These proteins were first identified in flies but the evidence for a vital role in human disease is gaining momentum. Together this research has helped us to propose novel regulators of graft failure which may help us find a cure for bypass graft disease.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Potential of acellular biological scaffold coated with chemokines and cytokines as tissue engineered small artery grafts - UKRI ODA allocation
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (THS)Dates
01/11/2022 to 31/03/2023
8065 MRC DPFS via Glasgow: AdTIMP-3 porcine vein grafts
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (THS)Dates
01/09/2020 to 31/03/2022
8065 MRC Newton Fund UK-Malaysia MR/T018208/1: Potential of acellular biological scaffold coated with chemokines and cytokines as tissue engineered small artery grafts
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (THS)Dates
31/12/2019 to 30/06/2022
Preclinical Development and Testing of Innovative Bioresorbable Stents to Treat Patients with Severe Peripheral Arterial Disease.
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
We are developing a new generation of vascular stents to prevent stroke and limb amputation in patients with blocked arteries supplying blood to the legs and to the brainManaging organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (THS)Dates
04/03/2019 to 28/02/2021
Attenuation of vein graft failure by CK2 inhibition
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (THS)Dates
01/09/2016 to 28/08/2021
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Recent publications
26/01/2023Inhibition of Intimal Thickening By PRH (Proline-Rich Homeodomain) in Mice
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
Pro-inflammatory role of Wnt/b-catenin signaling in endothelial dysfunction
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
Investigation of Atherosclerotic Plaque Vulnerability
Methods in Molecular Biology