Personal statement

Susan Currie obtained her PhD in Biochemistry (cellular signalling and molecular pharmacology) from the University of Glasgow in 1992 then spent two years at Lilly Research Laboratories, USA, where she studied the role of phospholipase A_² in mast cell activation. She returned to the University of Glasgow in 1994 to join the then newly formed Clinical Research Initiative in heart disease and became a founder member of the school of cardiovascular studies in Glasgow. During this time she progressed from postdoctoral researcher to Principal Investigator examining the role of Calcium/calmodulin protein kinase ll (CaMKll) in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. She moved to the University of Strathclyde in 2005 as a Lecturer in Physiology & Pharmacology and established an independent cardiovascular signalling research group with principal interests in CaMKll modulation of cardiac calcium handling and cardiac inflammation. CaMKll as a therapeutic target in cardiac disease remains a key focus of research and characterising the actions of this enzyme is ongoing. More recent research interests include cardiotoxicity in the context of safety pharmacology as well as altered cardiovascular function in ageing.

Dr Currie is currently chair of the Scottish Cardiovascular Forum and full member of the Physiological Society and Biophysical Society, as well as being the Strathclyde University representative for the Physiological Society. She was made a Fellow of the Physiological Society in 2017 in recognition of her contribution to cardiovascular research and the discipline of Physiology. She currently teaches on a wide range of classes across both the MPharm and Biomedical Sciences programmes at the University of Strathclyde and coordinates classes on the MPharm programme. She was awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2008. She currently co-directs the collaborative MPharm programme between the University of Strathclyde and the International Medical University (IMU) in Kuala Lumpur, acting as MPharm representative on the internationalisation committee and is Deputy Director of the MPharm programme at the University of Strathclyde.