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Scholar Profiles

Sara Ahmadi Abadi

Sara Ahmadi Abadi

Country of origin: Iran

Subject: Public Health

Matriculation year: 2009

I went to Cambridge in 2009 to study for the MPhil and then PhD in epidemiology as a Krishnan-Ang and Gates scholar. I hold an MD degree in medicine from Tehran University and prior to attending Cambridge University worked on a GFATM funded Malaria control project at the United Nations Development Programme office in Iran.

My research is focused on understanding the process of ageing. My MPhil research project was investigating the association of intake of carbohydrates and risk of developing diabetes. For my PhD I looked at the role of inflammation in ageing. My research contributed to our understanding of the processes involved in ageing in humans. I found that low-grade inflammation (as marked by elevated blood levels of C-reactive protein) is associated with several age-related conditions such as cardiovascular disease, mortality, cancer, osteoporotic fractures, lung function, diabetes and cognitive decline. Smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and stress are important determinants of low-grade inflammation and as such, inflammation may be on the biological pathway linking lifestyle factors and adverse ageing outcomes. ?

Upon completion of my studies at Cambridge, I joined University College London and for five years worked on a public health modelling project to forecast the burden of cardiovascular disease, dementia and disability over the next 25 years in the UK and four European countries, to measure the impact of public health policies and interventions on these outcomes. The results of this project were published in leading medical journals and was extensively covered by major news outlets.

In 2018 I joined Imperial College London as a lecturer (~Assistant Professor) in the Epidemiology of Ageing to continue my research on dementia. As well as population level prevention of dementia, I am interested in studying novel biomarkers which can improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of different types of dementia and may be used as diagnostic or therapeutic targets.