BHF Centre Early Career Researchers

Our initiatives include exclusive ECR lunch sessions with the BHF seminar Speaker, the ECR forum, and a comprehensive mentoring scheme. These activities provide invaluable opportunities for ECRs to network with leading experts, engage in meaningful discussions on scientific advancements, and receive guidance on career progression. By fostering a supportive and collaborative environment, we ensure that ECRs have the tools and networks they need to succeed in their careers – whether within academia, industry or the clinical setting.

ECR Lunch / Chat with BHF Centre Speaker

The BHF Centre hosts regular seminars featuring distinguished speakers from diverse disciplines, both national and international. Following these talks, ECR’s at the BHF Centre can engage with speakers during exclusive, PI-free lunch session or online chat session if the event is held via Teams. These sessions are limited in number to promote meaningful discussions on career development and scientific advancements. Additionally, these interactions provide ECR’s with valuable opportunities to enhance their professional network and gain insights into various research fields. Signing up for these events will be facilitated via Forms, with the link provided by the Centre Manager.

ECR Forum

The KCL BHF Centre ECR Forum is a PI-free event designed to promote discussion and networking among early career researchers within King’s College London’s BHF Centre of Research Excellence. Held four times a year, the Forum features a range of internal and external guest speakers covering topics such as research projects, emerging technologies and career pathways both within and beyond academia.

Each session concludes with a social networking opportunity, supports collaboration, career development, and open discussion in an informal and confidential environment.

Organised by the Centre's ECR Representatives and the ECR Lead, the Forum promotes collaboration, career development, and open discussion in an informal and confidential environment. No registration is required for this event, but acceptance is managed via a calendar invitation sent by the Centre Manager.

ECR Mentor Scheme

At King's College London, we recognise the value of strong mentorship in supporting the growth and development of Early Career Researchers (ECRs). The BHF Centre offers a structured mentorship programme that matches ECRs with mid-career researchers and Principal Investigators (PIs) based on their individual goals. By providing tailored guidance and support, the mentorship scheme aims to enhance professional development and helps ECRs progress toward their career aspirations.

Sign-up to mentorship programme

ECR Lead

Dr Anna Zoccarato is the BHF Centre ECR lead and responsible for organising the BHF Centre ECR activities and acting as the formal link between ECRs and the Centre’s Operational Committee.

Anna Zoccarato obtained her BSc and MSc in Biotechnology from the University of Padova (Italy). She then pursued her PhD at the University of Glasgow under the supervision of Prof Manuela Zaccolo. Following her doctoral studies, she joined the lab of Prof Ajay Shah at King's College London as a Research Associate, where she focused on investigating the role of NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) and Nrf2 in modulating cardiac metabolism in response to stress. Currently, Anna is a Research Fellow and Junior Group Leader at the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences at King’s College London.  Her research interest lies in exploring the contribution of changes in cardiac metabolism, particularly glucose anabolic pathways, to pathological cardiac remodelling. In her investigations, she employs a comprehensive range of methodologies, including in vivo models of pathological cardiac remodelling, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), engineered heart tissue (EHTs), molecular biology techniques, metabolomics, and extracellular flux analysis.