Anthony Albert joined UEA in 2024 as Associate Professor of Medical Education has part of the team developing the new Graduate Entry Medicine course which will begin in 2025. 

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.

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. Drugs that alter these cellular pathways are potential therapeutic targets 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.

Research approaches: freshly isolated and cultured single ECs and VSMCs from animal and human tissue, 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. 

Research areas:

Properties, activation mechanisms and functions of store-operated TRPC1-mediated channels in VSMCs (see Baudel et al, 2020 )

Role of calcium-sensing receptors in vasculature (see Albert & Greenberg, 2025)

Role of myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase sunstrate (MARCKS) on vascular contractility (see Albert et al, 2024) 

Prof Albert has considerable experience in delivering high-quality and impactful student-focused teaching and learning environments, through student-facing teaching, 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

Senior Advisor

Previous roles

Year 1 lead (MBBS), Module lead (MBBS, Life Support), Years 1 and 2 Subtheme in Pharmacology Lead (MBBS), 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.