Congratulations to Professor Mark Parsons, Director of Neurology & Stroke Research at the Ingham Institute, who will collaborate as an Investigator on a three-year project with Prof ​Roland Stocker that aims to reduce rates of stroke and heart attack by studying patients with ‘hot’ (inflamed) arteries.

Patients with ‘hot’ (inflamed) arteries have high rates of recurrent stroke and heart attack. The study will look at whether a new PET ‘contrast’ agent, 18F-MAPP, can identify hot arteries in patients with stroke and coronary disease. The study will then explore whether repurposing an old anti-inflammatory drug, Colchicine, can reduce the inflammation in these hot arteries and hence reduce rates of subsequent stroke and heart attack.

Excitingly, our research partner Liverpool Hospital will be the sole site for the Phase 1 study, which will be supported by the Ingham Institute’s dedicated Clinical Trials Unit.

Prof Parsons also recently won the Institute’s Research Excellence Awards 2022, specifically the Lady (Mary) Fairfax AC, OBE Distinguished Researcher Award for his work in Neurology and Stroke Medicine – one of the Institute’s five core research foci. Congratulations Mark and team.