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.    BHF Programme Grant RG/F/26/110203, “Immunity and thrombo-inflammation in acute takotsubo cardiomyopathy”, D Dawson (Chief Investigator), J Ross, M Morgan, H Wilson, M Kallikourdis, D Newby, Collie-Duguid E, Ryan N, Tuong K, Mutch N, £1,719,750.25, 2026-20312.   

2. BHF Scottish Network of Research Excellence, CLANS (Cardiovascular Academic Network of Scotland), Chief investigator R Myles, SI/F/26/21170025 co-applicant, £4,994,696, 2025-2030.   

3. Delineating Macrophage Cholesterol Homeostasis Pathways Regulated by Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) Signalling in Atherosclerosis, M Delibegovic (Chief Investigator) BHF Programme Grant, RG/F/26/110184, £1,124,038, £2025-2030

4. Genetic samples collection and storage for acute takotsubo cardiomyopathy – D Dawson (Chief Investigator), A Rudd, Zosia Miedzybrodzka, Project Grant NHSGC GCA26048, 1 June 2026-31 May 2029, £33,358

5. Anthracycline-related Skeletal Muscle Toxicity: Defining Pathways For Protection, D Dawson (Chief Investigator), B Elsberger, Friends of Anchor Clinical Research Training Fellowship (for Dr Joel Allotey), 1 Nov 2025 - 31 October 2028, £347,652

6. Rebalancing the fat content of the heart and muscles in Type 2 Diabetes, D Dawson (Chief Investigator), M Delibegovic, S Gray, S Philip, F Thies, J Griffin, D Cameron, J Ross, B Fielding, DE Newby, H Lamb, BHF Special Project Grant SP/F/24/150080, 01/08/2025-31/07/2028, £570,102.89

7. Finding a treatment for Takotsubo cardiomyopathy – DE Newby (Chief Investigator), M Dweck, L Kershaw, S Semple, M Williams, D Dawson, BHF Project Grant PG/24/11930, 01/08/2024 to 31/07/2027, £347,793.90

8. A Randomised Controlled Trial of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibition for Reduction of Cardiovascular Events after Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (EVEREST), D Dawson (Chief Investigator), 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

9. Sodium-glucose transporter type 2 inhibition in anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity, D Dawson (Chief Investigator), D E Newby, BHF Clinical Research Training Fellowship (for Dr Sylvia Kamya) FS/CRTF/23/24508, 2025-2028, £398,695.00

10. Epigenetic Phase Variation of Periodontal Bacteria – a Mechanistic Contributor to Coronary Artery Disease, K Hijazi (Chief Investigator) and D Dawson, BHF Project Grant PG/22/11117, £217,509, 2022-2025, £230,671

11. The next leap in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging: cycling the field: D Dawson (Chief Investigator), D Lurie, L Broche, J Ross, H Abbas: BHF New Horizons Grant no. NH/19/1/34595, 2020-2027, £277,722