Last year (April 2022), we announced an award of £106,000 to fund a new Clinical Research Fellow for two years on the UK SCAD research project led by Prof David Adlam in Leicester. Unfortunately, several challenges, including ongoing Covid-19 impact, delayed the appointment of the new team member, but in June 2023, Prof Adlam updated the Trustees with news that an exciting new candidate had been interviewed and a revised strategy was being considered for the post to be a three-year PhD position… subject to securing additional funding.
Further to discussions, financial evaluation and careful consideration of the value of the Clinical Research Fellow to both the SCAD project and the SCAD patient community, we are excited to announce that Beat SCAD has increased the earlier £106,000 award by £98,624.18.
To meet the financial needs of the appointment, the award has required a re-allocation of earlier funds: in September 2020, Beat SCAD awarded £23,000 to fund imaging scans as part of Dr Alice Wood’s PhD research. Only half of this award was used during Dr Wood’s tenure. Therefore, the remaining £11,500 will now be used to fund the new Clinical Research Fellow. The aim is for Beat SCAD to replace the funds later, subject to ongoing fundraising, because imaging scans continue to be an important source of research data.
We are excited to announce that the new Clinical Research Fellow is Dr Anju John (pictured).
Prof Adlam said: “I think Dr Anju John is going to be brilliant, and the three-year time frame provides great stability for the SCAD programme. I only hope I can keep up with her!”
Dr John is currently an interventional cardiology trainee in Manchester and will join Prof Adlam’s team in Leicester from 1st February 2024.
Dr John said: “I have always been interested in the management of coronary artery disease. Being an avid learner and constantly looking for self-improvement, I have been hardworking and continuously evolving professionally. As a cardiology trainee, I have had first-hand experience in managing patients with SCAD and have developed a curiosity in improving the coronary outcomes in those presenting with this under-diagnosed condition. I will be pursuing a PhD at Leicester on SCAD, with the aim to add new knowledge in improving the care and outcome of those presenting with SCAD.”
Rebecca Breslin, Trustee Chair said: “We are extremely happy to have Dr John join the research team for the next three years. We have already seen the important impact and value of the Clinical Research Fellow role following the earlier appointments of Dr Abi Al-Hussaini [2014-2017; BHF funded] and Dr Alice Wood [2017-2021; partially Beat SCAD funded] whose work has contributed to several journal publications, in addition to the support provided directly to patients attending the SCAD clinic as well as their participation in Beat SCAD conferences to present their work.”
Beat SCAD is currently running a campaign to raise £25,000 to support the work of the Clinical Research Fellow. More details about the More research to beat SCAD campaign here Thank you to all donors and supporters so far.
