Professor Dana Dawson

Biography

I graduated in medicine from the Grigore Theodor Popa University in Iasi, Romania, and moved country as a fresh graduate to pursue higher medical training in the UK. I achieved Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and read for a D.Phil in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford (Merton College). Following this, I undertook Cardiology specialist training at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and also spent two years at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, in the USA. In my final year I undertook sub-specialty training as the first holder of the van Geest Advanced Imaging Fellowship at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. Having maintained a significant presence in academic research and publishing throughout my training, I was competitive for appointment as a clinical academic. I am the co-director of the Aberdeen Cardiovascular and Diabetes Centre and continue to practice clinical Cardiology, delivering elective clinical consultations, advanced cardiac imaging service, and acute on-call Cardiology receiving.

I have made world-leading contributions to understanding a life-threatening psycho-somatic interaction, known as acute takotsubo cardiomyopathy (or “broken heart syndrome”), affecting mostly women and precipitated by a stressful trigger. I initiated clinical mechanistic research work which is now regarded as landmark science, established the Scottish Takotsubo Registry, lead a 7-year NIHR funded, world’s first RCT of therapy in takotsubo and been awarded a BHF program grant to investigate the intricate pathophysiology of the condition.

I lead other mechanistic clinical research, such as exploring the cardio/skeletal muscle health in patients with type 2 diabetes during GLP1-RA, SGLT-2 use for prevention of cardio and skeletal muscle toxicity from anthracyclines in cancer, and develop cardiac field cycling MRI, a new MRI technology invented in Aberdeen.

Prizes and Awards

Most recent mentored scientific investigations shortlisted for prize awards include:

1.    Janaki Srivanasan – winner of the British Society of Echocardiography Young Investigator Research Prize, October 2016

2.    Caroline Scally – finalist at the Early Career award, Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Washington, January 2017

3.    Caroline Scally – finalist at the Samuel A Levine Young Investigator Award of the American Heart Association, Anaheim, CA, November 2017

4.    Nadine Godsman – winner of the Young Investigator’s prize of the British Pharmacological Society – Pharmacology, December 2017 – London, England

5.    Caroline Scally - finalist at the Melvin Judkins Young Investigator Award of the American Heart Association, Chicago, IL, November 2018

6.    Alice Mezincescu – finalist at the Early Career Award-Translational Sciences of the Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Seattle, February 2019

7.   Chaitanya Joshi – Coronary Artery Disease Risk is Increased by Periodontitis Pathobionts, winner of the Sir Wilfred Fish Prize of The British Society of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry, London, November 2021

8.    Alice Mezincescu – Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes is Moderated by Saturated Fatty Acids Abundance and Turnover, finalist at the Early career award on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Risk, American Heart Association scientific sessions, Chicago, November 2022

9.    Susanth Alapati - Genetic & Epigenetic Profiles of a Phase-variable Periodontopathogen in Coronary Disease, winner of the IADR Colgate Research in Prevention Award at the IADR General Session, Barcelona, June 2025

10.   Amelia Rudd, Morbidity after takotsubo syndrome: a report from the Scottish Takotsubo Registry - Young Investigator Award for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals, European Society of Cardiology, Madrid, 2025

Funding and Grants

RESEARCH GRANTS  – current:

1.      A Randomised Controlled Trial of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibition for Reduction of Cardiovascular Events after Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (EVEREST), D Dawson (CI), DE Newby, G Hillis, M Petrie, G McCann, CP Gale, J Horowitz, G MacLennan, G Scotland, J Norrie – NIHR – Health Technology Assessment (NIHR157523), 01/01/25 to 31/12/31, £3,049,458.47

2. Myocardial Lipid Compartments in Type 2 Diabetes – Tenovus Scotland, AM Ciutac, J Ross, A Davidson and D Dawson, 1/08/2024-31/12/2025, £12,260

3. Sodium-glucose transporter type 2 inhibition in anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity, D Dawson (CI), D E Newby, BHF CRTF FS/CRTF/23/24508, 2025-2028, £363,697

4. Bioinformatics analysis of single cell SEQUENCing of Human PBMC in acutE cardiac disease- SEQUENCE study, H Khan, E Collie-Duguid, D Dawson, Tenovus Scotland, 03, 2023, £14,557

5. Replacement of (ultrasound) echocardiography equipment for clinical research, BHF Infrastructure Grant IG/F/21/50010 and IG/f/21/50010, D Dawson, 2022, £147,208

6. Epigenetic Phase Variation of Periodontal Bacteria – a Mechanistic Contributor to Coronary Artery Disease, BHFClinical Research Training Fellowship - FS/CRTF/22/24275 (for Dr Shirleen Hallang), K Hijazi (PI) and D Dawson, £217,509, 2022-2025, withdrawn due to unavailability of the fellow and re-awarded after peer review as a Project Grant, BHF PG/22/11117, £230,671

7. Epidemiology and predisposition of acute stress-induced (takotsubo) cardiomyopathy - BHF Research Training Fellowship (FS/RTF/20/30009, for Ms Amelia Rudd): D Dawson (CI), David Newby, 2021-2024, £215,051

8. The next leap in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging: cycling the field: D Dawson (CI), D Lurie, L Broche, J Ross, H Abbas: BHF New Horizons Grant no. NH/19/1/34595, 2020-2024, £277,722