Bridging Bench to Bedside in Cardiovascular & Experimental Medicine
Led by Dr Joseph Cheriyan at Cambridge University Hospitals and the University of Cambridge, the Cheriyan Group designs and delivers first-in-human and early-phase clinical trials and experimental-medicine studies, investigating novel and repurposed therapeutics across cardiovascular, respiratory and immunometabolic disease. Its AI and digital-innovation work runs under IGNITE — Innovative Group for Novel Interventions, Trials & Experimental Medicine — the group's Cambridge programme for intelligent, technology-enabled trials and biomarkers.
Dr Joseph Cheriyan
Dr Cheriyan is a clinician-scientist whose research programme evaluates novel and repurposed therapeutics in humans — spanning first-in-human safety studies through to proof-of-efficacy trials — with a particular focus on cardiovascular medicine (hypertension, heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, dyslipidaemia and vascular inflammation) and respiratory medicine (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and COVID-19). His work sits at the interface of experimental medicine, clinical pharmacology and translational cardiovascular science, and is supported by a portfolio of investigator-led trials, industry-sponsored studies and academic collaborations across the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals. He also holds a Visiting Researcher appointment at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia.
Research themes
Vascular function, NO bioavailability and the microcirculation
Forearm plethysmography, flow-mediated dilatation, arterial stiffness and 24-hour central ambulatory blood pressure characterise the role of vasoactive peptides and hormones in the regulation of vascular tone.
Learn moreCardiovascular imaging
Molecular and functional cardiovascular imaging — FDG PET-CT, immuno-PET, cardiac MRI, hyperpolarised MRI and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI — is applied to atherosclerosis biology, off-target pharmacology in inflammatory disease, and drug-induced changes in the vessel wall and myocardium.
Learn moreInflammation and immunometabolism
A flagship programme addresses the residual inflammatory risk that persists despite optimal LDL-lowering, with low-dose interleukin-2 emerging as a first-in-class immunomodulatory strategy for acute coronary syndromes.
Learn moreHypertension, lipids and cardiometabolic medicine
Work spans ancestry-informed selection of first-line antihypertensive drugs, novel antihypertensive mechanisms including aldosterone-synthase inhibition, PCSK9-mediated intensive LDL-lowering, and mechanisms of oncology-drug-induced hypertension.
Learn moreIGNITE is the innovation and experimental-medicine programme of the Cheriyan Group, bringing together artificial intelligence, digital biomarkers, emerging technologies and novel trial methodologies to transform how cardiovascular disease is studied, detected, monitored and treated.
Meet the team
News & updates
Measuring cardiac stroke volume through in-ear audio sensing — Nature Communications
Butkow KJ, Jalaludeen N (co-first), Liu Y, Stuchbury-Wass J, Yang Q, Ciliberto M, Ma D, Cheriyan J, Mascolo C
Read moreAnti-inflammatory therapy with low-dose IL-2 in acute coronary syndromes — the IVORY trial
Randomised Phase 2 evidence in Nature Medicine (2026;32:624-632) that low-dose IL-2 modulates vascular inflammation after acute coronary syndrome.
Read moreUK–Australia SHE-HEALS study awarded £7.4 million to investigate how menopause shapes heart health
Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge (20 January 2026): Cambridge researchers — including Dr Joseph Cheriyan — join a UK–Australia SHE-HEALS consortium awarded £7.4 million by the Global Cardiovascular Research Funders Forum (GCRFF) to investigate how menopause shapes long-term cardiovascular risk in women
Read morePeer-reviewed research
The group's work spans high-impact journals in cardiovascular medicine, clinical pharmacology and translational science. Browse the full publication record via ORCID or PubMed — updated live.
Chief or Principal Investigator on ongoing academic and commercial trials at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Trials portfolio