Aleksandar Ivetic

KCL, UK

Alex Ivetic obtained his BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from Imperial College London. He then embarked on a PhD at the Marie Curie Research Institute (through the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London), where he investigated how DNA replication is triggered during the cell cycle. His first postdoc position was hosted at the National Institute for Medical Research (now part of the Francis Crick Institute), where he began his investigations in cell adhesion molecules and their contribution to immune cell recruitment in inflammation. In his second postdoc position, he used the parallel plate flow chamber to model immune cell interactions with blood vessels in vitro. After successfully obtaining a Research Career Development Award from the Wellcome Trust, Alex moved back to Imperial College London in 2005 to start his own group at the National Heart and Lung Institute to further understand mechanisms underlying immune cell responses to inflammation. Since starting at King’s as a Senior Lecturer, Alex has spent time in the labs of Paul Kubes (Calgary, Canada) and Michael Hickey (Monash, Australia) to gain expertise in intravital microscopy – elaborating his understanding of leukocyte recruitment on an organismal level. The majority of his research now focuses on understanding the mechanisms that regulate leukocyte homing to sites of “sterile injury” (e.g. myocardial infarction and venous thrombosis), and how subverting this process might bring improved outcomes in models of cardiovascular disease. His recent interests have also extended to understanding the cellular mechanisms regulating endothelial cell permeability. In February 2021, Alex was promoted to Reader in Cardiovascular Biology.

Alex is Postgraduate Research Lead to approximately 100 PGR students within the School of Cardiovascular Sciences and Medicine – overseeing their progress and wellbeing. He is also the Lead Administrator of the Joint PhD programme between King's and the University of Göttingen's Heart Centre, which spun out from an IRTG1816 award by the DFG and is now in its second 5-year renewal. He has supervised over 10 PhD students as primary supervisor and is strongly committed to improving PGR student progress and welfare.

Alex has delivered numerous public engagement seminars relating to his research in well-attended events, such as the Pint of Science and Science Museum Lates.