Professor Matt Bown

I am an academic vascular surgeon. I am internationally recognised for my contributions to clinical and laboratory studies of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). I have particular expertise in the genomics of AAA having led worldwide collaborations to deliver genome-wide association studies that have identified the majority of the known genomic risk loci for AAA. I have more recently developed a complementary research programme in AAA screening and have both led and contributed to clinical studies of AAA screening that are changing NHS practice.

My current AAA research programme is supported by a BHF Programme Grant to study the genomics of AAA progression. I have been awarded a Programme Grant from the NIHR to undertake a national pragmatic clinical trial of adding screening for peripheral arterial disease to AAA screening (NIHR PGfAR). I have recently completed an NIHR funded empirical study of screening women for AAA. I have been awarded an NIHR HSDR project grant under the NIHR cross-programme data science themed call for an in-silico data linkage study of targeted AAA screening. I am a co-investigator on an Australian NHMRC funded international trial of metformin to prevent AAA progression.

I have a strong interest in training and development. I am the Director of Clinical Academic Training for the University of Leicester and lead the training of up to 40 Clinical Lecturers and Academic Clinical Fellows at any one time. I am a co-investigator for the BHF University of Leicester Accelerator Award in which we will focus on academic training. 

Sweeting MJ, Masconi KL, Jones E, Ulug P, Glover MJ, Michaels JA, Bown MJ, Powell JT, Thompson SG. Analysis of clinical benefit, harms, and cost-effectiveness of screening women for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Lancet. 2018;392(10146):487-495.

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. Clin Epigenetics. 2018;10:29.

Bath MF, Sidloff D, Saratzis A, Bown MJ (2018). Impact of abdominal aortic aneurysm screening on quality of life. Br J Surg. 2018 Feb;105(3):203-208.

Sidloff DA, Saratzis A, Sweeting MJ, Michaels J, Powell JT, Thompson SG, Bown MJ (2017). Sex differences in mortality after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in the UK. Br J Surg. 2017 Nov;104(12):1656-1664.

Jones GT,……, Bown MJ (2017). Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Studies for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Identifies Four New Disease-Specific Risk Loci. Circ Res 120(2):341-353.

Bath MF, Saratzis A, Saedon M, Sidloff D, Sayers R, Bown MJ, UKAGS investigators (2017). Patients with Small Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm are at Significant Risk of Cardiovascular Events and this Risk is not Addressed Sufficiently. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg, 53(2):255-260.

Desai M, Choke E, Sayers RD, Nath M, Bown MJ (2016). Sex-related trends in mortality after elective abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery between 2002 and 2013 at National Health Service hospitals in England: less benefit for women compared with men. Eur Heart J, 7;37(46):3452-3460.

Jones GT, Bown MJ, Gretarsdottir S, Romaine SP, Helgadottir A, Yu G,……, van Rij AM. (2013). A sequence variant associated with sortilin-1 (SORT1) on 1p13.3 is independently associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm. Hum Mol Genet, 22(14), 2941-2947.

Bradley DT, Hughes AE, Badger SA, Jones GT, Harrison SC, Wright BJ,……, Bown MJ. (2013). A variant in LDLR is associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm. Circ Cardiovasc Genet, 6(5), 498-504.

Stather PW, Sylvius N, Wild JB, Choke E, Sayers RD, Bown MJ. (2013). Differential microRNA expression profiles in peripheral arterial disease. Circ Cardiovasc Genet, 6(5), 490-497.

Total publications - 310; H-index - 45

Peripheral arterial disease abdominal aortic aneurysm cardiovascular genomics

I am the Director of Clinical Academic Training for the University of Leicester and responsible for the MRes Clinical Sciences.

Vascular surgery abdominal aortic aneurysm cardiovascular screening

MB BCh - University of Wales College of Medicine - 1997 MD - University of Leicester - 2003

FRCS - The Royal College of Surgeons of England - 2008

PGCert (Bioinformatics) - Oxford University - 2009