Christian Delles

Biography

Christian Delles studied medicine at the Universities of Freiburg, Germany, and Innsbruck, Austria. He undertook his MD research in Prof Paul Dietl's lab at the Department of Physiology in Innsbruck and joined Prof. Roland Schmieder's group at the Department of Nephrology, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, in 1997. Here he worked on renal haemodynamics in arterial hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases; pathophysiology of endothelial dysfunction; and pathophysiology of left ventricular hypertrophy. In parallel he completed his specialist training in Internal Medicine. He joined the BHF GCRC in 2003 as a Research Fellow funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and became Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Physician in 2005. He became a Reader at the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences in 2011 and is currently Professor of Cardiovascular Prevention and Deputy Director of the BHF Centre of Excellence.

Research Interest

His interests are focussed on the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases where he uses clinical and translational approaches in his research. Major interests include: Biomarkers of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk - Together with Prof. Anna Dominiczak, Prof. Delles co-ordinates the EU FP7 programme "EU-MASCARA" into novel biomarkers of cardiovascular disease and risk. Vascular function and structure in patients at cardiovascular risk - The group uses a range of tools to characterise subclinical vascular damage, including flow-mediated dilation, peripheral artery tonometry, pulse wave analysis, assessment of pulse wave velocity and carotid intima-media thickness. There is close collaboration with the Clinical Research Facility at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Prof. Delles leads the Vascular Core which is an integral part of the BHF Centre of Excellence. Systems medicine of cardiovascular and renal diseases - Together with Prof. Harald Mischak, Prof. Delles studies proteomic and metabolomic profiles of coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease and other cardiovascular disorders. These projects are supported by EU FP7 programmes including "sysVASC" and "HOMAGE". Pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia and cardiovascular consequences of pre-eclampsia - This more recent research was triggered by findings on urinary proteomic profiles in pre-eclampsia in a large clinical study that was conducted together with Dr David Carty. Ongoing work on biomarkers of pre-eclampsia and studies into the cardiovascular consequences of pre-eclampsia of interest are conducted in collaboration with the Generation Scotland team and internationally with the Canadian Vascular Network. Risk stratification and prevention of chronic diseases - Together with Prof Peter Rossing at the Steno Diabetes Center and 13 other international partners the Glasgow team led by Prof. Delles is a major partner of the EU FP7 programme "PRIORITY" to study early detection of diabetic nephropathy and stratified preventative therapy of patients at highest risk.