Mission
The British Atherosclerosis Society (BAS) Young Scientist Community (YSC) is a group of cardiovascular research scientists in their early career who are actively engaged in the BAS. The mission of the BAS YSC is to bring early-stage researchers together by offering a vibrant and supportive network, to boost their future career in cardiovascular science through scientific communication, career development and communal activities.
Objectives
- to facilitate scientific communication and collaboration amongst young researchers
- to provide a platform to discuss the career challenges facing early-stage researchers
- to connect young researchers with one another and with top leaders in the cardiovascular field
- to increase the outreach of BAS to attract more young researchers to participate at annual BAS meetings
- to disseminate significant scientific developments or discoveries in the cardiovascular field amongst BAS members
Activities
- Specific session at the annual BAS meeting dedicated to YSC with career-oriented seminars
- Biannual newsletter with highlights of BAS meetings and more
- Stay connected, stay up-to-date and expand your network via our LinkedIn page
Introduction of the nucleus members:
Mandy Grootaert
Email: mandy.grootaert@kuleuven.be
Dr Mandy O.J. Grootaert obtained her masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2011 at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). She then started her PhD at the lab of Physio Pharmacology where she investigated the role of cell death in atherosclerosis. After obtaining her PhD in 2016, she moved to the UK to start a postdoc at the lab of Prof. Martin Bennett at the University of Cambridge. Her work on vascular smooth muscle cell senescence has been rewarded with several prizes at the BAS and at the joint BAS/BSCR meeting. In August 2021, she moved back to Belgium to join the lab of Prof. Liz Jones at the Catholic University of Leuven where she is studying microvasculature dysfunction in heart failure. Mandy is co-founder and nucleus member of the BAS YSC since January 2021.
Inhye Park
Email: inhye.park@kennedy.ox.ac.uk
Dr Inhye Park completed a DPhil in Molecular and Cellular Medicine in the Kennedy Institute at the University of Oxford in 2019 after obtaining a MRes in Biomedicine from University College London. She was awarded a Novo Nordisk Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to undertake a project in Professor Claudia Monaco’s group at Oxford in 2021. Her research interests lie in understanding biology of tissue macrophages and harnessing their protective functions for treating cardiovascular disease. During her education and career, she was awarded several prizes for best oral and poster presentation at British and international conferences. Inhye is co-founder and nucleus member of the BAS YSC since January 2021.
Pelin Golforoush
Email: p.golforoush@ucl.ac.uk
Dr Golforoush’s research expertise is focused on the area of myocardial infarction. Initially investigating protein-protein interactions of associated myocardial infarction pathways, she advanced her research by developing novel compounds to reduce myocardial infarction damage. She has more recently focused on applying this knowledge to focus on cardioprotection for anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity during her time at Imperial College London. At The Hatter Cardiovascular Institute she is now using her expertise to target injury induced in atherosclerotic models. She joined the YSC as nucleus member in January 2022.
Jordi Lambert
Email: jl2139@cam.ac.uk
Dr Jordi Lambert completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Reading. She then obtained a PhD from the University of East Anglia in 2019, where she researched cell-matrix interactions in angiogenesis. She is currently a post-doc in the lab of Dr. Helle Jørgensen at the university of Cambridge, where she works on vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic switching in atherosclerosis. She joined the YSC as nucleus member in January 2022.
Henry West
Email: henry.west@balliol.ox.ac.uk
Dr Henry W. West is a Clinical Fellow in Cardiology at the University of Oxford, UK, where he is also soon to complete his PhD with Professors Charalambos Antoniades and Keith Channon as a Rhodes Scholar. His work is concerned with the assessment of patient’s individual risk for heart disease, including coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, and stroke. His expertise spans cardiovascular epidemiology, artificial intelligence in medical imaging, and biomarker discovery. He joined the YSC as nucleus member in January 2022.
