Professor Athanasios Saratzis

I am a vascular and endovascular surgeon (Professor of vascular surgery) with an interest in clinical and translational research. My clinical focus is complex peripheral revascularisation. I am currently based in the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and Department of Cardiovascular Sciences (University of Leicester) supported by an NIHR Advanced Fellowship. Prior to my current appointment I completed my higher surgical training in Birmingham (West Midlands Deanery) Leicester (East Midlands Deanery) and London (Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust) funded by the NIHR as a Fellow and subsequently as a Clinical Lecturer. 

I lead world-class research across several field in vascular surgery, endovascular practice, and cardiovascular sciences. I am currently delivering several randomised or single-arm applied research studies nationally and internationally. My main academic focus relates to peripheral artery disease and cardiovascular risk reduction. 

Selected publications - further available here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=saratzis+a

VERN, Saratzis A, Outcomes of Vascular and Endovascular Interventions Performed During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic. Annals of Surgery 2021; 273: 630-635.

KDIGO Conference Participants. Central and peripheral arterial diseases in chronic kidney disease: conclusions from a Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Controversies Conference. Kidney International 2021: S0085-2538(21)00472-5.

Sidloff DA, Saratzis A, Thompson J, Katsogridakis E, Bown MJ. Infra-Renal Aortic Diameter and Cardiovascular Risk: Making Better Use of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Outcomes. 
European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery 2021: S1078-5884(21)00270-7.

Saratzis A, Donati T, Biasi L, Diamantopoulos A, Katsanos K, Zayed H. A network meta-analysis of supervised exercise therapy, angioplasty and best medical therapy in intermittent claudication. Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) Cardiovascular Interventions 2019; 24: 1125-1136.

Saratzis A, Lea T, Yap T, Batchelder A, Thomson B, Saha P, Diamantopoulos A, Saratzis N, Davies R, Zayed H. Paclitaxel and Mortality Following Peripheral Angioplasty: An Adjusted and Case Matched Multicentre Analysis. European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery 2020; 60: 220-229.

Saratzis A, Joshi S, Benson RA, Bosanquet D, Dattani N, Batchelder A, Fisher O, Ioannidou E, Bown MJ, Imray CH; VERN collaborators. Editor's Choice - Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) in Aortic Intervention: Findings From the Midlands Aortic Renal Injury (MARI) Cohort Study. European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery 2020; 59: 899-909.

Saratzis A, VERN. Observational study of the medical management of patients with peripheral artery disease. British Journal of Surgery 2019; 106:1168-1177.

Saratzis A, Chiocchia V, Jiffry A, Hassanali A, Singh S, Bown M, Mahmood A. HYDration and bicarbonate to prevent acute Renal injury after endovascular Aneurysm repair: pilot-feasibility randomized controlled study (HYDRA pilot trial). European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery 2018; 55:648-656.

Toghill BJ, Saratzis A, Freeman PJ, Sylvius N; UKAGS collaborators, Bown MJ. SMYD2 promoter DNA methylation is associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and SMYD2 expression in vascular smooth muscle cells. Clinical Epigenetics 2018; 10:29-31.

Bath M, Sidloff D, Saratzis A, UKAGS investigators. The Impact of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening on Quality of Life. British Journal of Surgery 2018; 105:203-208.

Currently supervising 2 Academic Clinical Lecturers (ACLs) funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Chief investigator for 4 national clinical studies (applied vascular research) & primary investigator for 8 clinical trials. 

I have been a fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) since 2016. I regularly participate as faculty and/or organiser in national/international surgical and endovascular courses/webinars having also led several research projects investigating the role of simulation in endovascular training. I am a faculty member of the VaLS Academy and lead the endovascular component of the course: https://www.vascularlimbsalvageacademy.com 

Twitter/X link: twitter.com/a_saratzis

LinkedIn profile link: www.linkedin.com/in/athanasios-thanos-saratzis-70509734

05/2023 – present: NIHR Team Science Committee co-Chair

01/2023 - present: ESVS (European Vascular Society) European Research Hub - founding member

02/2021 - present: Research Collaboration for Peripheral Arterial Disease (RCPAD.org) - founding member

08/2022 - present: NICE Technology Appraisal Committee (TAC) - member

06/2021 - present: BJS Open Associate Editor

05/2020 - present: BJS Assistant Editor; PLOSOne Associate Editor

02/2020 - present: Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes KDIGO Vascular Committee - member

01/2020-12/2020: Royal College of Surgeons of England Hunterian Professor 2020

10/2019 - present: Vascular Society of GB & Ireland Peripheral Arterial Disease Research Group - vice chair

02/2018 - present: NIHR Health Technology Assessment Clinical Evaluation & Trials Committee - member

03/2018 - present: UK Perioperative Medicine Clinical Trials Network - PI for Midlands

02/2018 - present: Royal College of Surgeons, England (London), UK (FRCS) - Fellow (FRCS)

01/2018-06/2019: Vascular and Endovascular Research Network (VERN) founding member, ex-president

01/2018 - present: NIHR Surgical MedTech Co-operative - PI for Midlands

03/2016 - present: Higher Education Academy - Fellow (FHEA)

I am currently supported by an NIHR Advanced Fellowship (2019 until 2024).

I received an RCSEng Hunterian Professorship for 2020 (research relating to vascular renal injury).

Grants as chief investigator / lead are highlighted

2003

• International Federation of Medical Students' Association (IFMSA) Scholarship for Elective Placement (Heart & Transplant Surgery, LKH Hospital, Graz, Austria)

2004 & 2006 (awarded on 2 occasions)

• Electromedical Research Fellowship Grant:R&D Directorate, Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, Dudley, UK – overall value £26,000 (PhD fellowship)

2010

• Arthur Guest Prize (07/2010) Regional prize for best oral presentation (interesting case). Royal College of Physicians. (£300).
• Post Graduate Award (PGA) in Professional Skills (07/2009 – 07/2010) – Birmingham University

2012

• Rob Benny Prize (awarded to best Core Trainee at West Midlands Deanery, £300)
• Maquet Bursary Specialty Skills in Vascular Surgery (Royal College of Surgeons, £500)
• Wellcome Trust Bursary Advanced Genomic Analyses (Cambridge University, £700)

2013

• Prize for oral presentation – West Midlands Surgical Society Meeting 2013
• BJS Prize VSGBI 2013

2014

• Health Education England (HEE) Innovation Grant - £50,000 (chief investigator)

  2015

• Scholarship to attend UKCSRT Clinical Research Programme (£1,000)
• European Vascular Society Prize (EVST Prize) at Charing Cross Symposium
• Academy of Medical Sciences Lecturer Starter Grant - £26,774 (chief investigator)
• Finalist – Sol Cohen prize VSGBI 2015
• Starter grant – University of Leicester - £8,500 (chief investigator)
• NIHR RfPB PG-0215-36027; Female Aneurysm Screening Study Study - £324,440 (co-primary investigator)
• Leicester NIHR Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit Small Grant - £700

2016

• Finalist – BJS Prize VSGBI 2016

  2017

• HEEM Education & Research Grant - £37,515 (chief investigator)
• East Midlands Academic School Clinical Lecturer Grant - £8,337 (chief investigator)
• NIHR CRN Research Award 2017 (East Midlands)
• British Society for Endovascular Therapy Fellowship - £3,237
• Finalist – BJS Prize VSGBI 2017
• HEEM Simulation Grant – £99,500 (chief investigator)

 

2018

• Amgen Research Grant - £6,000(chief investigator)
• British Heart Foundation (BHF) Programme Grant RG/18/10/33842 - “Deep phenotypic characterisation of abdominal aortic aneurysm growth” - £587,498 (co-applicant 5%)

2019

• NIHR Advanced Fellowship – NIHR300059 – “Risk reduction In the NHS abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme: a co-developed cardiovascular prevention intervention (the CRISP study)” - £905,883 (personal award; chief investigator 100% i.e. 10 PAs for 54 months)
• NIHR Programme Grant - NIHR200601 - “Peripheral arterial disease, High blood pressure and Aneurysm Screening Trial (PHAST) – An evaluation of the acceptability, effectiveness and cost effectiveness of screening for peripheral arterial disease and high blood pressure at the same time as abdominal aortic aneurysm.” - £2,401,083 (co-CI, 8.5%)
• Abbott Medical Study Grant – “Treatment of common femoral artery atherosclerotic disease using an interwoven nitinol stent (Supera) – the CONFESS study.” – £123,283 (chief investigator)
• Hunterian Professorship 2020 Royal College of Surgeons (England)

2020

• NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research Programme - NIHR130075 - "In-silico trials of targeted screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm using linked healthcare data: can the efficiency of the NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme be improved whilst maintaining publicly acceptable levels of disease detection in an ethically acceptable manner.” - £832,009 (co-applicant 5%)
• Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland & Circulation Foundation Research Grant - no reference - “The COVID-19 Vascular Service Study.” - £5,538 (chief investigator).
• NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) – NIHR202008 – “An intervention to improve medical management of peripheral arterial disease - the CHABLIS Study.” - £238,419 (chief investigator 10%).

2021

• NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) - Commissioned Call 20/23 - “Diagnostic tools to establish the presence and severity of peripheral arterial disease in people with diabetes.” - £662,761.68 (co-applicant 5%).
• Shockwave Medical (industry grant) - “A national prospective cohort study assessing treatment of patients with peripheral artery disease using intravascular lithotripsy.” - £86,437 (chief investigator).
• Abbott Medical (industry grant) - “Fate of patients with chronic limb threatening ischaemia presenting to secondary care in the NHS - a study using national routinely collected data.” - £288,201 (chief investigator).

  2022

• Boston Scientific BSCI (industry grant) - “Health economic analysis of the impact of re-interventions in patients with peripheral arterial disease in Europe; COSTLY - TLR Study.” - 483,000 euros (chief investigator).
• NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) - “Perineural Local Anaesthetic Catheter aftEr Major lowEr limb amputatioN Trial (PLACEMENT)” - £1,762,000 (co-applicant 5%).
• NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) - “A randomised controlled trial assessing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of Endovascular vs. Open revascularisation in severe oCClusive aorto-iliac disease. The EVOCC Trial. - £1,929,060 (chief investigator).

   

  2023

   

• NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) - Platform trial development award for peripheral arterial disease. The PAEDIS project. - £289,453 (chief investigator)
• NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) - Platform trial development award for deep venous disease. The VEIN project. - £199,892 (co-applicant 5%)
• Innovate UK – Designing an application to improve cardiovascular risk management based on precision medicine: the Target CVD application. - £998,007 (lead applicant – private project)

 

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)

Cardiovascular risk reduction

Randomised clinical trials (RCTs)

Applied research.

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (England)

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

PhD Vascular Surgery - multicentre project between Aristotle University (Greece) University of Birmingham (UK) and University of Leicester (UK) (2013)

Medical Degree Aristotle University (Greece) (2009)

I have completed the Harvard Medical School Surgical Leadership Programme, NIHR Academic Leadership Programme, and Harvard Clinical Scholars Training.