Prof. Albert Ferro, professor of clinical pharmacology, Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
What do you do? and what is a typical week for you?
I am a clinical pharmacologist in a busy London teaching hospital. I divide my time roughly equally between clinical and academic work. My particular interest is in cardiovascular disease prevention, and I run a twice weekly hypertension outpatient clinic and provide an inpatient hypertension consult service for my Trust. I have protected research time, during which I supervise a group comprising both clinical and non-clinical researchers (undergraduate and postgraduate students, PhD students both clinical and basic, postdocs, and a Clinical Lecturer); the focus of our research is novel therapeutic targets for atherosclerosis, and this encompasses both bench-based and clinical studies. I also teach both medical and science students on all aspects of pharmacology, especially those pertaining to the cardiovascular system, and on therapeutics and prescribing.
In addition, I chair our Trust’s Drug & Therapeutics Committee, am vice-chair of our Joint Formulary Committee, and am co-chair of our Area Prescribing Committee’s Medicines and Pathways Review Group. I have also recently become a member of the London Regional Medicines Optimisation Committee (RMOC). All of these activities focus on improving medicines management both within our Trust and in the wider community.
What qualifications and experience do you have?
I qualified in medicine with MB BS in 1984 from King’s College London, following which I gained experience in a variety of medical specialties as a junior doctor (house officer and then SHO) before taking MRCP(UK) in 1988. I then trained in cardiovascular medicine as a Registrar and undertook a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology in Cambridge focusing on adrenoceptor regulation and cross-regulation in the cardiovascular system. Following a further year as a clinical Senior Registrar in Clinical Pharmacology at the Hammersmith Hospital, I obtained a clinical Senior Lecturer post in Clinical Pharmacology at my current institution in 1996. I was promoted to Reader in 2007 and to Professor in 2009. During my 20+ years as a senior clinical academic, I have developed my research and clinical portfolio to the point that I can now focus on, and do, the things that really interest me.
What’s the most interesting aspect of your job?
The thing that I really like about my job is that it is so varied - so there is never a dull moment. I flit from seeing patients in the clinic to writing research grants or giving lectures; and in between, I contribute to committees where I feel I have real expertise and can make a difference to the lives of patients. Not only does this stop me feeling that I am ‘in a rut’ but also there are constant challenges ahead and new goals to aim for – so for example, how can our most recent and exciting research finding be taken to the next level for the benefit of our patients?
What are your research interests?
My group’s research is on the pathophysiology of, and novel therapeutic approaches to, atherosclerosis. We have published on the role of endothelial-derived nitric oxide in vascular protection, and on the role of platelets in vascular inflammation which is a key component of atherosclerosis; this has encompassed studies both on isolated cells and in patients in vivo. Most recently, we are conducting a phase 2 clinical trial of a new drug therapy targeting neutrophil function in patients with established atherosclerosis, to determine whether this will exert a beneficial effect on disease progression.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone seeking a career in clinical pharmacology?
Clinical pharmacology is one of those rare specialties where you can pretty much make of it what you will. Many people have in the past been very unclear what it is exactly that clinical pharmacologists do, and this may have put some people off as a career option. However, my experience from over 2 decades in the specialty is that you can tailor your role very much to the disease area(s) of most interest to you, and contribute in a big way; I see that as a great positive, not at all a negative.