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Ioanna Tzoulaki
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Scientific career
InstitutionsImperial College London
University of Ioannina
ThesisInflammation and haemostasis in the development and progression of peripheral atherosclerotic disease. (2007)

Ioanna Tzoulaki is a professor of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London. She investigates prognostic risk factors and models for chronic diseases and meta-epidemiology. In 2019 she received a Greek L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Award for Women in Science.

Early life and education

Her father was a mathematician.[1] At the University of Edinburgh she studied inflammation and haemostasis in peripheral atherosclerotic disease.[2] She made use of the Edinburgh Artery Study, a cohort study of over 1,500 men and women.[2]

Research and career

Tzoulaki looks to understand what predisposes certain people to chronic diseases. The diseases investigate by Tzoulaki include cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease and Dementia. By developing prognostic risk models, Tzoulaki believes it should be possible to identify who might be at risk of certain conditions and advise of preventative methods early.[3] She showed that people with elevated iron levels are at higher risk of suffering from a cardioembolic stroke, a condition which is caused by blood clots which move from the heart to the brain and block the supply of blood and oxygen.[4] To investigate this connection, Tzoulaki used a method known as Mendelian randomization.[4]

Tzoulaki identified that people who are very overweight are almost a third more likely to suffer from coronary artery disease than those with a healthy body weight, even if their blood pressure and blood sugar are healthy.[5][6] In an attempt to predict people's risk of heart disease, Tzoulaki developed sophisticated testing protocols that analysed genetic variants.[7] These tests looked for single-nucleotide polymorphisms, small changes in DNA that occur when one nucleotide is replaced with another. She found that these protocols only showed a modest benefit over conventional testing (i.e. calculating QRISK; which evaluates levels of cholesterol, smoking habits and history of diabetes).[7]

In 2019 she received a Greek L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Award for Women in Science for her work in “Research on Cardiovascular Risk Factors”.[1][8] In September 2020 Tzoulaki was made Professor of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London.[3]

Selected publications

Personal life

Tzoulaki has children.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Woman Scientist of the Month: Ioanna Tzoulaki • EPWS". European Platform of Women Scientists EPWS. 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  2. ^ a b Tzoulaki, Ioanna; Fowkes, F. G. R; Murray, G. D; University of Edinburgh (2007). Inflammation and haemostasis in the development and progression of peripheral atherosclerotic disease. hdl:1842/2148. OCLC 827262294.
  3. ^ a b "Continued excellence at Imperial celebrated in latest round of promotions | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  4. ^ a b "Higher iron levels associated with increased risk of certain types of stroke | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  5. ^ "'Fat but fit' are at increased risk of heart disease | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  6. ^ Association, New Scientist and Press. "Even 'healthy' overweight people have a higher cardiac risk". New Scientist. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  7. ^ a b "Gene tests for heart disease risk have limited benefit | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  8. ^ "European Historic Cafés Association | 10th Ceremony of the L'ORÉAL-UNESCO Greek Award for Women in Science by L'Oréal Hellas and the Greek National Committee for UNESCO at the Zappeion Megaron – Presence of EHICA at the award ceremony (6.3.2019)". Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  9. ^ "Opportunities Committee". Imperial College London. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
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