Professor Kinya Otsu

BHF Professor of Cardiology

BHF Centre of Research Excellence, King’s College London

Professor Kinya Otsu, our new Professor of Cardiology, is one of the world’s leading experts in the mechanisms that underlie cell death during heart failure. After 20 years building an international reputation at Osaka University in Japan, he’s moving to join our team at King’s College London.

Heart failure affects more than 750,000 people in the UK, occurring after a heart attack or because of other heart conditions. It can be a debilitating condition, where normal everyday tasks such as doing the shopping or simply playing with the children takes enormous energy and leaves sufferers breathless and exhausted.

During heart failure heart muscle cells work inefficiently, and they also die. During a heart attack, when a heart can lose millions of cells, lack of oxygen kicks off a chain reaction of cell death. Although some cells will always be lost during a heart attack, we hope to develop new treatments to prevent cell death or even replace dead cells.

£1m award helps scientists investigate cell death

Our new award of more than £1.1m will allow Professor Otsu to set up an experienced team of experts to investigate what happens to cells in the heart during heart failure. We are already supporting Professor Otsu’s work with an extra grant of £1.75m.

There are several ways that cells die, and the Professor’s team is especially interested in the mysterious types of cell death called autophagy and necrosis. These types are less studied than another kind of cell death, called apoptosis, which is better understood. By developing a greater understanding of how to prevent cells from dying, we might be able to find new treatments to fight heart failure.

Some of the new award goes towards essential laboratory equipment, including two high-tech microscopes costing more than £20,000 each. A fund of another £20,000 will support pilot research projects in new areas, which could form the first steps towards brand new discoveries.

Professor Otsu’s Professorship is the latest award in a multi-million programme of ongoing investment at King’s College London, which also supports several other BHF Professors. One of these is Professor Ajay Shah, who heads our £9m BHF Centre of Research Excellence. Thanks to your donations, we’re bringing some of the world’s top scientists together to make real strides towards finding new treatments for heart patients.