Professor Vinood Patel

1997 PhD - King's College London, London

1992 BSc Pharmacology (Hons) - University of Portsmouth

After completing his PhD Vinood continued his research experience by undertaking his post-doctoral studies in the laboratory of Professor Cunningham in the Department of Biochemistry at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, (Winston-Salem, NC, USA). This extensive project involved investigating mechanisms of hepatic mitochondrial ribosome dysfunction in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) using biophysical and proteomic techniques. These studies have led to new avenues in determining the pathology of ALD.

His teaching areas at both post-graduate and undergraduate levels include clinical biochemistry, investigative pathology and diagnostic laboratory investigation.

Awards and Grants

2006 Awarded UoW PhD research scholarship.

2007 Awarded UoW Cavendish PhD scholarship.

2007 Wellcome Student Scholarship and Nuffield Foundation Scholarship

1997-2003 Supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

2010 PARK funded commerical project

2013 Saudi Arabian Government PhD scholarship

2018-2026 Self-funded PhD. Application of Lipidomics and the role of fatty acids in Prostate Cancer

2019-2024 PhD scholarship. Investigating Inflammatory Pathways in Alcoholic Liver Disease

2018-2019 Nigerian Government TETFund & University of Benin, Nigeria. Research Exchange

2019-2022 Nigerian Government TETFund & Federal University of Agriculture, Nigeria. Malaria and liver injury

2019-2022 Nigerian Government TETFund & University of Benin, Nigeria. Metronizole induced cellular toxicity

2022-2023 Gencor Pacific Ltd funded nutraceutical project. Nanoformulation and the blood brain barrier

There are two main categories of chronic liver disease: alcoholic fatty liver disease (ALD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). ALD includes a broad spectrum of liver injury ranging from simple steatosis to fibrosis/cirrhosis and lastly, hepatocellular carcinoma. The histology of the liver identifies the stage of injury present.  Simple liver steatosis is the first stage in the progression of ALD. Steatosis then progresses to steatohepatitis which further develops into fibrosis or cirrhosis, and in some instances can progress to hepatocellular cancer (HCC). However, the pathogenesis of liver disease remains poorly understoodT. he prognosis for both severe alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis is poor with a death rate of up to 50%..

Therefore it is important to understand the early events/key changes arising in the pathogenesis of ALD. The precise mechanisms responsible for ALD are poorly understood, however a number of key events are clearly involved, which we are studying. These include altered mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, acetaldehyde toxicity and nutritional deprivation/abnormal antioxidant regulation.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging epidemic worldwide. It is a metabolic condition that etiologically parallels with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and the metabolicsyndrome. However, the pathogenesis of NAFLD remains elusive, though it is known free fatty acids such as palmitate promote liver injury. Therefore, there is a pressing need to find a potent therapeutic approach for NAFLD. These investigations involve examining pathways involved in lipid accumulation, cell death, as well as mitochondrial function.

Current Research / Ongoing Projects

Current Research

• Investigating inflammatory pathways in alcoholic liver disease.
• Nutritional intervention in alcoholic liver disease.
• Post-translational modification of proteins.
• Cellular interactions between hepatic cells.
• Biomarkers of hepatic toxicity.
• Hepatic and pancreatic iron overload.
• Fatty Liver Disease

Lipid Biomarkers for prostate cancer

Membership of Professional Bodies

British Association for the study of the Liver (BASL); European Association for the study of the Liver (EASL); Royal Society of Chemistry;

Research Groups

Centre for Nutraceuticals

Neuroscience, Inflammatory Disorders and Therapeutics

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