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5 minutes with Rosita Zakeri

26 January 2021

Dr Rosita Zakeri is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in the School of Cardiovascular Medicine & Sciences, and an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at King's College Hospital and Guys & St Thomas' NHS Trust. We took 5 minutes with Rosita to learn more about her career and life outside of work.

Briefly, tell us about your background and career up to this point?

I grew up in Sutton Coldfield, studied medicine at the University of Birmingham, and completed general medical and cardiology training in Birmingham and London, respectively. Since I wanted to pursue a clinical-academic career, a PhD was the next logical step, and in 2010 I went to the US for a PhD fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. This was a fantastic opportunity to branch out and develop new skills. My thesis investigated the pathophysiology of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and its relationship with atrial fibrillation using clinical, translational and epidemiological research techniques. After this, I returned to the UK in 2014 and completed subspecialty fellowships in heart failure and cardiovascular imaging at Imperial College NHS Trust and the Royal Brompton Hospital, while continuing academic activities as a Clinical Lecturer at Imperial College. I completed my training programme in 2019 and was delighted to receive a King’s Prize Fellowship to further my clinical-academic aspirations at King’s. Currently, I am a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist.

What is a typical day like for you? How has this changed due to COVID-19?

At the moment there is no typical day. I split my time between treating patients with heart failure, performing cardiac MRI, and clinical research. Recently I’ve been helping out with the COVID-19 response in the hospital too.

Do you have any current projects that you’d like to tell us about?

Something positive that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic was an enormous collaborative effort, locally and worldwide, to rapidly generate knowledge about this new disease. I was part of a large multi-disciplinary team of researchers working across King's, King’s Health Partners, and South London primary care who performed research using electronic health record data to address questions arising during the pandemic, such as the safety of ACE inhibitor drugs and the impact of ethnicity. Our most recent project examines the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension and diabetes, established cardiovascular diseases, and outcomes for patients with COVID-19. We also report the incidence of cardiovascular complications.

In my role as a heart failure clinician, I have also recently set up a dedicated clinic for patients with HFpEF and I’m looking forward to building a clinical research programme in this area. Even though HFpEF accounts for almost half of all cases of heart failure and is a major cause of death and disability, there are currently no effective treatments. Our aim is to identify modifiable mechanisms of HFpEF that will lead to therapeutic advances in the future.

What is your favourite thing about working at King’s?

It’s an ambitious, supportive and highly collaborative environment. For good science and happy scientists, that’s essential!

What advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?

There’s an opportunity around every corner. Sometimes the thing you don’t get leads to something much better!

What do you do with your time outside academia?

Pre-lockdown you would have found me outdoors, playing sports or brunching with friends. During lockdown, you will find me indoors and permanently on zoom.