Isla Mackenzie

Biography

Dr Isla Mackenzie is a Clinical Reader in Clinical Pharmacology and Honorary Consultant Physician at the University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. Dr Mackenzie is Deputy Director of the Medicines Monitoring Unit (MEMO) and the Hypertension Research Centre at Ninewells Hospital.  Research interests include cardiovascular safety of drugs, clinical trials, hypertension and technology in research. Clinical interests include general medicine, hypertension and adrenal disorders including phaeochromocytoma. Dr Mackenzie trained in Clinical Pharmacology in Cambridge prior to moving to Dundee in 2008.

Research Interest

Dr Mackenzie’s research focuses on improving cardiovascular outcomes and drug safety using a combination of large multicentre randomised clinical trials and pharmacoepidemiological approaches to answer important clinical research questions. She is also interested in clinical trial methodology and improving patient and physician engagement in clinical research.  She is Chief Investigator of the ALL-HEART study (involving 200 GP sites and 5,215 patients) and Principal Investigator of several other studies including FAST and FOURIER. Swine flu (H1N1 Influenza A) vaccine safety study – an academic post-marketing surveillance study of the safety of swine flu vaccination in the UK population. Collaboration with Drug Safety Research Unit, Southampton /University of Plymouth. (Chief Investigator). Spironolactone and breast cancer – a pharmacoepidemiological study in the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) investigating whether there is a link between exposure to aldosterone antagonists and increased incidence of breast cancer. Collaboration with Dundee Cancer Centre. (Principal Investigator). The Standard care versus Celecoxib Outcome Trial (SCOT) – a large multicentre streamlined safety study comparing the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal safety of celecoxib and traditional NSAIDs in patients with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Collaboration with Universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nottingham, Birmingham and Southern Denmark (Steering Committee Member). Febuxostat versus Allopurinol Streamlined Trial (FAST)  - a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint (PROBE) clinical trial evaluating long term cardiovascular safety of febuxostat in comparison with allopurinol in patients with chronic symptomatic hyperuricaemia. (Principal Investigator and Steering Committee Member). BHS Prevention And Treatment of Hypertension With Algorithm Based Therapy (PATHWAY) Studies – a series of three clinical trials investigating rational treatment algorithms for hypertension. Collaboration with Universities of Cambridge, Leicester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Exeter, Manchester, Birmingham, Imperial College and St Bartholomew’s, London. (Steering Committee Member) Hypertension due to Conn’s adenoma - the localisation of adrenal cortical adenomas by 11C-metomidate PET scanning following dexamethasone and fludrocortisone suppression. Collaboration with University of Cambridge (Co-Investigator). Personal health monitoring through mobile devices - Collaboration with Herriot-Watt University, University of Stirling and Glasgow School of Art. (Co-Investigator). Effervescent medications, sodium content and blood pressure - Pharmacoepidemiological study investigating the effect of chronic therapy with effervescent tablets containing high levels of sodium and risk of hypertension and cardiovascular events. ‘Get Randomised’ Campaign – methods of engaging the public in clinical research. Highly Commended entry for Ian Stevenson Prize for Public Engagement, University of Dundee, 2010. Further Cardiovascular Outcomes Research with PCSK9 Inhibition Subjects with Elevated Risk (FOURIER) – a multicentre randomised trial of LDL-lowering in patients at high cardiovascular risk (Principal Investigator). Allopurinol and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with ischaemic heart disease (ALL-HEART) – a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint (PROBE) clinical trial evaluating whether Allopurinol improves cardiovascular outcomes in patients with ischaemic heart disease (Chief Investigator and Steering Committee Member).