Dr David Greensmith
School of Science, Engineering & Environment
Current positions
Associate Dean International Development
Biography
In 2005, I graduated from The University of Salford with a degree in Biological Sciences. I then completed a PhD and two post-doctoral positions in cardiac physiology with Professors David Eisner, Mahesh Nirmalan and Andrew Trafford at The University of Manchester. In 2014, I returned to The University of Salford as a lecturer in Biomedical Science where I am now Reader and Associate Dean for International Development. At Salford, I established an independent cardiac research group with interests in inflammatory cardiovascular disease and drug-induced cardiotoxicity.
I am an Associate Editor for the international journal Current Research in Physiology and twice-elected committee member of the British Society for Cardiovascular Research (BSCR). I begin my term as President of the BSCR in January 2025. In 2017 I was appointed as Physiological Society representative for The University of Salford.
Areas of Research
My research seeks to elucidate the cellular basis of the heart's normal function and its dysfunction in disease. Current projects seek to better understand (1) why anti-cancer drugs cause heart failure and (2) how abnormal heart cell function contributes to coronary artery disease. In both cases, I am particularly interested in the role of abnormal calcium signaling and oxidative stress.
To do this, my lab uses advanced techniques such as single patch clamping and photometric measurement of intracellular calcium and oxidative stress.
Areas of Supervision
My lab seeks to better understand the cellular basis of heart disease. We use advanced techniques such as single cell photometry and patch clamping to understand how heart cells become dysfunctional in disease, and how their function is improved or degraded by drugs.
Example areas of work include:
- Investigating the cellular basis of heart disease caused by anti-cancer drugs.
- Investigating the cellular basis of coronary artery disease
- Investigating how inflammation leads to heart dysfunction. Here, we focus on the role of cytokines and oxidative stress.
We are also interested in the development of novel cancer and cardiac drugs from natural products.
Self-funded PhD positions are available in my lab. Please contact me for a conversation around specific projects or to discuss you own ideas.
I thoroughly enjoy teaching physiology and watching an enthusiasm for the field develop in undergraduates. I previously led two physiology modules and the Human Biology & Infectious Diseases degree programme.
With colleagues, I co-lead extra-curricular initiatives that seek to enhance widening participation in research based careers. For these efforts, in 2023 I was awarded The Physiological Society's Otto Hutter Teaching Prize.
Recognitions
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President of the British Society for Cardiovascular Research
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Otto Hutter Teaching Prize
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Associate Editor for Current Research in Physiology
Publications
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Disulfide-activated protein kinase G Iα regulates cardiac diastolic relaxation and fine-tunes the Frank–Starling response
Scotcher, J., Prysyazhna, O., Boguslavskyi, A., Kistamas, K., Hadgraft, N., Martin, E., …Eaton, P. (2016). Disulfide-activated protein kinase G Iα regulates cardiac diastolic relaxation and fine-tunes the Frank–Starling response. Nature communications, 7, 13187. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13187