Clinical research
Research
Dr Lovell’s research in heart rhythm care, clinical trials and cardiac repair, with information for patients and healthcare professionals.
Research to improve heart care
Dr Lovell’s research interests include heart rhythm disorders, cardiac devices and how the heart responds to injury. His work spans laboratory research and clinical studies, which help answer questions about patient care.
He has been involved in designing and setting up studies, recruiting patients, collecting and analysing data, and publishing findings. He has also presented research at national and international meetings.
Clinical trials
Dr Lovell has served as a principal investigator — the doctor responsible for leading a study at a participating hospital — and has helped recruit patients to clinical research.
He was the principal investigator at the RDE Hospital for STEEER-AF. This trial evaluated whether an educational programme for healthcare professionals could improve adherence to guidelines for the care of people with atrial fibrillation, a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat.
The trial design and results are included on the publications page.
PhD research: understanding cardiac repair
Dr Lovell was awarded a PhD for research into the role of cells derived from bone marrow in cardiac repair. His work explored the regenerative properties of adult stem cells and the biological processes involved in the heart’s response to injury.
The research was funded by the British Heart Foundation and undertaken in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at the William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Laboratory experience
For healthcare professionals and research collaborators, his laboratory experience includes:
- Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation, techniques used to identify proteins and genetic material in tissue.
- Flow cytometry to study cell surface markers, mitochondrial membrane potential, cell death, the cell cycle and side population (SP) phenotypes.
- Stem cell harvesting, culture and differentiation, alongside the culture of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes).
Book chapters
- Mozid, A. M., Arnous, S., Lovell, M. J. and Mathur, A. Cell Based Regenerative Therapy. Percutaneous Interventional Cardiovascular Medicine.
- Lovell, M. J. and Mathur, A. Gene and Stem Cell Technology. Essential Interventional Cardiology.
- Alison, M. R., Brittan, M., Lovell, M. J. and Wright, N. A. Markers of adult tissue-based stem cells. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology.
Conference research
Research presented at conferences has covered:
- Heart rhythm procedures: contact force sensing during catheter ablation, reducing the use of X-ray imaging, and the return of electrical connections between the pulmonary veins and the heart after ablation.
- Cardiac devices: remote follow-up of patients with implanted devices.
- Heart surgery: outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and the effects of impaired kidney function in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
- Cardiac repair: the location of stem cells in heart tissue after a heart attack (myocardial infarction).
See the publications page for journal articles, author lists and links to the papers where a DOI is available.