Anthony Albert

Professor

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

MARCKS regulation of vascular smooth muscle contractility, migration and proliferation in pulmonary artery: A new therapeutic target for pulmonary artery hypertension

MARCKS regulation of voltage-gated calcium channels, calcium signalling, and excitability in cardiac myocytes

Personal profile

Biography

Anthony Albert joined UEA in 2024 as Associate Professor of Medical Education, where he will be part of the team developing the new Graduate Entry Medicine course which will begin in 2025. Prof Albert will be Year 1 and 2 Lead.

Prof Albert graduated with a BSc in Human Biology from Oxford Brookes University (1990), completed a MSc in Neuroscience at Edinburgh University (1991), and obtained a PhD in Neurophysiology from the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London (1997).

Prof Albert joined St George's (1998) as a postdoctoral researcher and was recruited onto academic staff as Senior lecturer (2006) and promoted to Reader in Cell Physiology (2013) and Full Professor of Cardiovascular Science (2018).

Throughout his career, Prof Albert has held various substantive research, teaching, and academic administrative and citizenship roles including chair of academic promotion committee, aurora leadership programme mentor, member of Athena Swan self-assessment team (Silver award),  and mental health first aider.

Prof Albert has a PgCert in Healthcare and Biomedical Education (2008), is a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (2023), and has been awarded for his excellence in student-centred teaching, particularly his effective lecturing, and pastoral care.

In keeping with his varied academic career, Prof Albert’s professional inaugural lecture was entitled ‘’Borders not barriers; professing values in academic life’’, where he discussed the importance of the personal value of service on his career journey and how this instilled in him the impact of understanding of what you are good for not good at.

Key Research Interests

Professor Albert has over 25 years’ experience investigating how stimulation of receptors on the surface of endothelial (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) regulate ion channels. These cellular processes have a major role in controlling the function of blood vessels and are involved in pathology associated with diseases such as hypertension, angina, stroke, and atherosclerosis. Drugs that alter these cellular pathways may therefore be developed as treatments for cardiovascular disease. Prof Albert’s research has been funded by research awards from British Heart Foundation, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and Arthritis Research UK, and he has published over 50 research articles.

His research uses multidisciplinary approaches to unravel cellular pathways coupling receptors and ion channels to blood vessel function in both animal and human tissue (obtained followed surgical procedures): freshly isolated single ECs and VSMCs, cell culture, patch clamp electrophysiology, RT-PCR, co-immunoprecipitation, western blotting, proximity ligation assay, phospholipid dot-blot, cell signalling biosensors, confocal microscopy, shRNA/morpholino knockdown of proteins, blocking anti-ion channel antibodies, transgenic mice, wire myography. 

Prof Albert's work has centred around three main areas: 1) the properties, activation mechanisms and functions of store-operated TRPC1-mediated channels in VSMCs (see Baudel et al, 2020 for review) and 2) the role of calcium-sensing receptors (see Greenberg et al 2016; 2017; 2019 and Carlton-Carew et al, 2024) and 3) the PIP2-binding protein myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase sunstrate (MARCKS) on vascular contractility (see Albert et al, 2024 for review). 

Teaching Interests

Prof Albert has considerable experience in delivering high-quality and impactful student-focused teaching and learning environments, through student-facing teaching, Year lead and Module lead responsibilities, curriculum and assessment development, and influencing and supporting colleagues. He is a proactive advocate for student welfare through pastoral care and student conduct and compliance involvement.

His educational impact is evidenced by awards and regular student feedback stating >85% of students ‘strongly agree’ that they are satisfied with his teaching, that his teaching is a ‘benchmark’, and that he should provide ‘training on delivering teaching’.

Prof Albert’s educational interests are varied, including the transition from secondary to studying medicine at university, what makes an effective lecture, and how fundamental medical sciences are taught, studied, and assessed within a MBBS course. He also has an interest in equality is education, especially the link between coloniality and whiteness within higher education curricula and institutional structures, and how this may affect exclusivity of student and colleague opportunities and educational journeys.   

Current Roles

Year 1 and 2 Lead, Graduate entry medicine, 2024-present

Previous roles and activities (St. George's, University of London)

Year 1, Life Support Module Lead, MBBS, Undergraduate course, 2012-present

Years 1 and 2 Subtheme in Pharmacology Lead, MBBS Undergraduate and Graduate-entry courses, 2009-present

Year 2 Lead, MBBS, Undergraduate course, 2017-2020

Years 1 and 2 representative, Undergraduate MBBS course periodic review and change team, 2018- 2019

St. George’s representative, support UCLan continency partner on developing, implementing, and GMC validation of Years 1 and 2 of their new MBBS course, 2018-2020, external examiner 2020-2024

MBBS intercalated BSc module lead, Novel therapeutic targets for cardiovascular disease, 2014-2018

Lectures (face-to-face, Teams, asynchronous), clinical scenario tutorials, Q&A/expert forums, formative exam feedback sessions on fundamentals of pharmacology, physiology and pharmacology of autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular and renal systems and uterus, and muscle contractile mechanisms

Learning objective writing and maintenance, blueprinting, writing single-best answer questions (SBAs), support/training of colleagues in writing SBAs, item analysis, angoff standard setting, OSCE examiner, special study component tutor

Admission multiple mini-interviews assessments (face-to-face, online)

Senior tutor to students with complex needs

Discretionary panels, assessment appeal panels, student investigations (e.g. as student-designated supporter and fitness to practice investigator)

Mental Health First Aider

Member of Mental Health and Wellbeing Think Tank, ‘The Gathering’ – e.g. involved in Student Union-led event on ‘Mental wellness week: Humans of healthcare’

Education/Academic qualification

Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy

Award Date: 30 Aug 2023

PgCert Healthcare and Biomedical Education, St George's, University of London

Award Date: 30 Aug 2008

PhD Neurophysiology, Royal Free Hospital Medical School, University of London

Award Date: 31 Mar 1997

MSc Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh

Award Date: 30 Aug 1991

BSc Human Biology, Oxford Brookes University

Award Date: 31 Jul 1990

External positions

External examiner, MBBS Phase I, University of Central Lancashire

20192023

External examiner, MSc Pharmacology, University of Oxford

20182022

Keywords

  • Higher Education
  • Medicine (general)
  • Anatomy & Physiology
  • Pharmacology & Drug Development

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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