Prof. Vijay Kunadian

MBBS MD FRCP (Edin) FACC FESC PG Dip Clinical Trials (LSHTM), WTL (Oxford)

Dr. Kunadian is an academic consultant interventional cardiologist based at Newcastle University and Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Dr. Kunadian completed all her cardiology training in the North East of England. She undertook an international academic fellowship in cardiology at the TIMI/PERFUSE Study group, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston MA. Dr. Kunadian has an international reputation in interventional cardiology and cardiovascular research, making her a sought-after and respected speaker at prominent national and international meetings. She has championed diversity in her specialty as a role model; only 5% of interventional cardiologist are female in the UK, <1% are clinical academics.

She is UK Chief Investigator in many clinical trials (BHF SENIOR RITA Trial, TWILIGHT trial, XIENCE SHORT DAPT Trial, PACIFIC AMI Trial, ICON1 study) with major grant awards including from the British Heart Foundation and >140 peer reviewed publications in major journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, European Heart Journal, Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Heart BMJ. Her research leadership roles include Country Lead, Trial Executive Steering Committee Member in TWILIGHT, Xience Short DAPT, AEGIS 2, PACIFIC AMI, iCORMICA trials (TSC Chair); DMC member BHF DUAL ACS trial.

She has held the following roles within European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI): Co-Chair/board member of the Scientific Documents and Initiatives Committee of the EAPCI; Member of ESC Regulatory Affairs Committee; Member of the EAPCI Women’s Committee and Young Committee; Steering Committee member of the Research and Development Committee of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS). She is National Theme Lead for Acute Coronary Syndrome Research Working Group of BCIS/BHF Clinical Research Collaborative.

She is Associate Editor in many journals including Heart BMJ, Circulation Interventions, European Heart Journal Digital Health, Advances in Interventional Cardiology, Journal of Interventional Cardiology, Eurointervention Social Media Editorial Board, and PCROnline Editorial Board. She is expert grant/technology reviewer for major funders including British Heart Foundation, Medical Research Council, EU Commission, National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence.

She was instrumental with the successful introduction of the various National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Academic Training Fellowship Programmes in the North East of England and recruitment of highly talented academic cardiology trainees in her role as academic lead. She was finalist in the prestigious international The Thomas J Linnemeier Spirit of Interventional Cardiology Young Investigator Award. She was awarded Winner of the UK Times and the Sunday Times We Are The City Rising Star Award (Top 5 Women in Healthcare Category) for 2018. In 2019, she was rated by UK National Institute of Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) to have “Better than expected survival (at 2 standard deviation level), 30 days following PCI” for her patients with PCI case volume twice the national average for an academic interventional cardiologist. With her relentless contribution to excellence in patient care since 2011, Freeman Hospital remains largest volume PCI centre in the UK (>3000 PCI procedures/year).

She has been chosen by the British Heart Foundation as their panel member for the Bias and Biology Campaign addressing the disparity of care among female patients with heart disease. She was the Chair/Lead author on the ESC/EAPCI Consensus document on INOCA which has raised the awareness of this condition worldwide. She has campaigned on the national media including the BBC (local national and world news), ITV, Channel 4 and newspapers to improve the care of patients with heart disease. She is one of the commissioners worldwide chosen to be on the Lancet Commission to reduce the global burden of heart disease in women.

Given her international expertise, she is invited speaker, chairperson in all cardiology scientific society conferences/congresses. She was an expert reviewer of the 2020 ESC non-ST elevation ACS Clinical Practice Guidelines.