Dr Kevin Cunningham

Photograph of Kevin Cunningham's profile photo

Lecturer

Life Sciences

Switchboard: +44 (0)20 7911 5000
115 New Cavendish Street
London
GB
W1W 6UW
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About me

I studied for a BSc (Honours) degree in Pharmacology at Kingston University. I then went on to complete an MSc in Cancer Biology at the University of Kent. I stayed at the University of Kent, moving into the Medway School of Pharmacy where I completed my PhD in Pharmacology and Physiology with my thesis titled “Functional Properties and Pharmacological Regulation of Two-Pore Domain Potassium Channels Associated with Pulmonary Disorders”. Following my PhD, I moved to King’s College, London to undertake a postdoctoral research position. At King’s, I was part of the Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases, where I was part of a drug discovery project investigating novel compounds selective for hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels in the treatment of neuropathic pain. After my time at King’s college I then moved to the University of Miami, continuing to work on HCN channels and how their biophysical properties relate to cardiovascular disease. 

Teaching

As a lecturer in Pharmacology I teach heavily across modules within the course pathway. I am module leader for Advanced Physiology and Pharmacology (3rd Year Module) as well as Drug Discovery, Design and Development on the MSc Pharmaceutical Science course. I am also involved in supervising Masters students and PhD researchers. 

Research

My research interest lies within channelopathies, targeting ion channels to treat disease, more specifically cardiac disease. Moreover, I aim to investigate the voltage-gated potassium channel, Kv1.5, and how it can be targeted in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. I hold collaborative research projects in HCN, two pore domain potassium (K2P) channels and KCNQ channels.

Techniques involved in my research includes whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology, molecular biology and in silico computational modelling. 

I am the Early and Mid-Career Research Committee Representative here at the University of Westminster 

Publications

For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.