Dr Juma El-Awaisi

Dr Juma El-Awaisi

Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
Research Fellow

Contact details

Address
College of Medicine and Health
University Âé¶¹¾«Ñ¡
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Juma El-Awaisi is a research fellow based in the Microcirculation Research Group at Cardiovascular Sciences.

Juma El-Awaisi completed his PhD in cardiovascular sciences at the University of Birmigham and Masters in Advanced Pharmacology at Strathclyde University. His focus is on identifying novel therapies for patients who have suffered from a heart attack. He is also investigating the effects of ageing, diabetes, and pulmonary disease on the heart, with a particular interest in the smallest blood vessels.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences 2019 - 2022
  • MSc in Advanced Pharmacology 2018 - 2019
  • BSc in Clinical Pharmacy 2008 - 2013

Biography

Juma El-awaisi is a researcher and health care professional with vast experience in business and management. After completing his undergraduate degree at the age of 20, Juma took a different path and moved towards business and marketing, where he co-founded a technology startup.

Juma is an advocate for merging scientific research with technology

Research

Working under the supervision of Dr Neena Kalia, Dr El-Awaisi’s research is focused on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Following myocardial infarction (MI), diabetic and elderly patients have a poorer prognosis, which may be linked to increased coronary microvessel susceptibility to injury. Interleukin-36 (IL-36), a newly discovered proinflammatory member of the IL-1 superfamily, may mediate this injury, but its role in the injured heart is currently not known. Therefore, our research focuses on investigating the role of IL-36, age, and diabetes in myocardial IRI using intravital microscopy and laser speckle contrast imaging.

Using intravital microscopy in a beating heart environment, we are able to directly observe thromboinflammatory events within myocardial microvessels, particularly the trafficking, adhesion kinetics (rolling / adhesion / transmigration) and cross-talk between leukocytes and platelets with each other and vascular endothelium. We are combining this method with laser speckle contrast imaging of the beating heart to quantitate overall organ perfusion and correlate these events with those taking place at the microvascular level.

Research Groups and Centres

Microcirculation Research Group

Other activities

British microcirculation and vascular biology society committee member: 2020 – 2023

Publications

Recent publications

Article

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D, Heising, S, Maria Schiessl, I, Cleary, S, Hodson, D & Kalia, N 2025, '', Basic research in cardiology.

Bourne, JH, Perrella, G, El-Awaisi, J, Terry, LV, Tinkova, V, Hogg, RL, Gant, P, Grygielska, B, Kalia, N, Kavanagh, D, Brill, A, Dimitrov, JD, Watson, SP & Rayes, J 2024, '', Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, vol. 22, no. 7, pp. 2018-2026.

El-Awaisi, J, Kavanagh, DPJ & Kalia, N 2024, '', Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, vol. 11, 1358472.

Retzer, A, Ciytak, B, Khatsuria, F, El-awaisi, J, Harris, I, Chapman, L, Kelly, T, Richards, J, Lam, E, Newsome, P, Calvert, M & Gillett, C 2023, '', Nature Medicine, vol. 29, no. 12, pp. 3259–3267.

El-Awaisi, J, Mitchell, JL, Ranasinghe, A & Kalia, N 2023, '', Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, vol. 10, 1227499.

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D, Rink, M, Weston, C, Drury, N & Kalia, N 2022, '', JCI Insight, vol. 7, no. 5, e155236.

El-awaisi, J 2016, '', Journal of Infectious Diseases and Therapy.

Abstract

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D, Rink, M, Weston, C, Drury, N & Kalia, N 2022, '', Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, vol. 173, no. supplement, pp. 7.

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D, Rink, M, Weston, C, Drury, N & Kalia, N 2022, '', Cardiovascular Research, vol. 118, no. Supplement_1, cvac066.051.

El-awaisi, J, Kavanagh, D & Kalia, N 2021, '', Heart, vol. 107, no. Suppl 1, A162.

Doctoral Thesis

El-awaisi, J 2022, '', ???thesis.qualification.phd???. <>

Review article

Marriott, E, Singanayagam, A & El-Awaisi, J 2024, '', Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, vol. 11, 1362564.