ProfessorSimonThom

Summary

Summary

Simon Thom is emeritus professor of cardiovascular medicine & clinical pharmacology at Imperial College London.  He trained at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School and subsequently in hospital posts in Bath and Newcastle-upon-Tyne before returning to Peter Sever’s department of clinical pharmacology at St Mary’s (now Imperial College London) over 40 years ago. 

He was consultant physician at St Mary’s & Hammersmith hospitals and co-director of the Peart-Rose hypertension & cardiovascular disease prevention clinic.  He was also co-director of the North West London diabetes research network (part of the UK national clinical research network).  He was a member of the executive committee of the British Hypertension Society, the national hypertension guidelines group and the cardiovascular NIHR specialty group.

Clinical interests include general medicine, hypertension, cardiovascular disease prevention and hypertensive complications of pregnancy.  Research interests include vascular pharmacology and physiology, structure and mechanics of the circulation and haemodynamics in relation to vascular disease.  He has led clinical trials of cardiovascular treatments; latterly the multi-centered UMPIRE trial evaluating a cardiovascular single pill combination that included collaborators and participants in India, Australia, Netherlands, Ireland and UK.  

Degrees

MB BS  St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, University of London  1976

MRCP  1979  (Fellowship 1996)

MD  Vascular a₂-adrenoceptor pharmacology, University of London  1992

 

Current post

Emeritus professor of cardiovascular medicine & clinical pharmacology

National Heart & Lung Institute (NHLI), Imperial College London (ICL)

 

Previous posts

Professor, NHLI, ICL  2005

Senior lecturer & consultant physician, St Mary’s & IC healthcare trust  1992

Lecturer (clinical pharmacology) & senior registrar (medical unit), St Mary’s  1984

 Selected publications

• Wang N, Patel A, Webster R, Thom S, Rodgers et al. Effects of low-dose triple combination therapy on therapeutic inertia and prescribing patterns in hypertension – results from the TRIUMPH trial.  JAMA Cardiol (submitted March 2020)
• Selak V, Webster R, Stepien S, Bullen C, Patel A, Thom S, Arroll B, Bots ML, Brown A, Crengle S, Dorairaj P, Elley CR, Grobbee DE, Harwood M, Hillis GS, Laba TL, Neal B, Peiris D, Rafter N, Reid C, Stanton A, Tonkin A, Usherwood T, Wadham A, Rodgers A. Reaching cardiovascular prevention guideline targets with a polypill-based approach: a meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials.  Heart 2019; 105(1): 42-48
• Al-Lamee RK, Shun-Shin MJ, Howard JP, Nowbar AN, Rajkumar C, Thompson D, Sen S, Nijjer S, Petraco R, Davies J, Keeble T, Tang K, Malik I, Bual N, Cook C, Ahmad Y, Seligman H, Sharp ASP, Gerber R, Talwar S, Assomull R, Cole G, Keenan NG, Kanaganayagam G, Sehmi J, Wensel R, Harrell FE Jr, Mayet J, Thom S, Davies JE, Francis DP. Dobutamine stress echocardiography ischemia as a predictor of the placebo-controlled efficacy of percutaneous coronary intervention in stable coronary artery disease: the stress echocardiography-stratified analysis of ORBITA.  Circulation 2019; 140(24): 1971-1980. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.042918.
• Gu B, Piebalgs A, Huang Y, Longstaff C, Hughes AD, Chen R, Thom S A, Xu XY. Mathematical modelling of intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischaemic stroke: effects of dose regimens on levels of fibrinolytic proteins and clot lysis time.  Pharmaceutics 2019; 11(3): 111. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics11030111
• Sluyter JD, Hughes AD, Camargo CA, Thom SAM, Parker KH, Hametner B, Wassertheurer S, Scragg R. Identification of distinct arterial waveform clusters and a longitudinal evaluation of their clinical usefulness.  Hypertension 2019; 74(4): 921-928. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.12625.
• McCarthy N, Vangjeli C, Surendran P, Treumann A, Rooney C, Ho E, Sever P, Thom S, Hughes A, Munroe P, Howard P, Johnson T, Caulfield M, Shields D, O'Brien E, Fitzgerald D, Stanton A. Genetic Variants in PPARGC1B and CNTN4 are Associated with Thromboxane A2 Formation and with Cardiovascular Event Free Survival in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT). Atherosclerosis 2018; 269: 42-49
• Huffman MD, Mohanan PP, Devarajan R, Baldridge AS, Kondal D, Zhao L, Ali M, Krishnan MN, Natesan S, Gopinath R, Viswanathan S, Stigi J, Joseph J, Chozhakkat S, Lloyd-Jones DM, Prabhakaran D; for the Acute Coronary Syndrome Quality Improvement in Kerala (ACS QUIK) Investigators. Effect of a Quality Improvement Intervention on Clinical Outcomes in Patients in India With Acute Myocardial Infarction; The ACS QUIK Randomized Clinical Trial.  JAMA. 2018; 319(6): 567–578.  doi:10.1001/jama.2017.21906  
• Evangelou E, Warren HR, Mosen-Ansorena D, Pazoki R, …….Stanton A, Thom S, ….. Caulfield MJ; Million Veteran Program. Genetic analysis of over one million people identifies 535 novel loci for blood pressure.  Nature Genetics 2018; 50(10): 1412-1425. doi: 10.1038/s41588-018-0205-x
• Singh K, Crossan C, Laba T, Roy A, Hayes A, Salam A, Jan S, Lord J, Tandon N, Rodgers A, Patel A, Thom S, Prabhakaran D. Cost-effectiveness of a fixed dose combination (polypill) in secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases in India: within-trial cost-effectiveness analysis of the UMPIRE trial.  Int J Cardiology  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2018.03.082  
• Webster R, Salam A, de Silva HA, Selak V, Stepien S, Rajapakse S, Amarasekara S, Amarasena N, Billot L, de Silva AP, Fernando M, Guggilla R, Jan S, Jayawardena J, Maulik PK, Mendis S, Mendis S, Munasinghe J, Naik N, Prabhakaran D, Ranasinghe G, Thom S, Tisserra N, Senaratne V, Wijekoon S, Wijeyasingam S, Rodgers A, Patel A; TRIUMPH Study Group. Fixed low-dose triple combination antihypertensive medication vs usual care for blood pressure control in patients with mild to moderate hypertension in Sri Lanka: a randomized clinical trial.  JAMA. 2018; 320(6): 566-579.
• Crossan C, Dehbi HM, Williams H, Poulter N, Rodgers A, Jan S, Thom S, Lord J. A protocol for an economic evaluation of a polypill in patients with established or at high risk of cardiovascular disease in a UK NHS setting: RUPEE (NHS) study.  BMJ Open. 2018; 8(3): e013063
• Piebalgs A, Gu B, Roi D, Lobotesis K, Thom S, Xu XY. Computational simulations of thrombolytic therapy in acute ischaemic stroke.  Sci Rep. 2018; 8(1): 15810
• Al-Lamee R, Howard JP, Shun-Shin MJ, Thompson D, Dehbi HM, Sen S, Nijjer S, Petraco R, Davies J, Keeble T, Tang K, Malik IS, Cook C, Ahmad Y, Sharp ASP, Gerber R, Baker C, Kaprielian R, Talwar S, Assomull R, Cole G, Keenan NG, Kanaganayagam G, Sehmi J, Wensel R, Harrell FE, Mayet J, Thom SA, Davies JE, Francis DP. Fractional flow reserve and instantaneous wave-free ratio as predictors of the placebo-controlled response to percutaneous coronary intervention in stable single-vessel coronary artery disease.  Circulation 2018; 138(17): 1780-1792
• McCarthy N, Vangjeli C, Surendran P, Treumann A, Rooney C, Ho E, Sever P, Thom S, Hughes A, Munroe P, Howard P, Johnson T, Caulfield M, Shields D, O'Brien E, Fitzgerald D, Stanton A. Genetic Variants in PPARGC1B and CNTN4 are Associated with Thromboxane A2 Formation and with Cardiovascular Event Free Survival in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT). Atherosclerosis 2018; 269: 42-49
• Poulter NR, Savopoulos C, Anjum A, Apostolopoulou M, Chapman N, Cross M, Falaschetti E, Fotiadis S, James RM, Kanellos I, Szigeti M, Thom S, Sever P, Thompson D, Hatzitolios A. Randomized crossover trial of the impact of morning or evening dosing of antihypertensive agents on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure.  Hypertension 2018; 72(4): 870-873
• Warren H, Evangelou E, Cabrera C, Gao H, ……. , Thom S, ……… , Munroe PB, Ehret GB, Tzoulaki I, Caulfield M, Elliott P. Genome-wide association analysis identifies novel blood pressure loci and offers biological insights into cardiovascular risk.  Nature Genetics 2017; 49(3): 403-415. doi: 10.1038/ng.3768
• Chow CK, Bennett A, Thakkar J, Hillis G, Burke M, Usherwood T, Vo K, Rogers K, Atkins E, Webster R, Chou M, Dehbi H-M, Salam A, Patel A, Neal B, Peiris D, Krum H, Chalmers J, Nelson M, Reid CM, Woodward M, Hilmer S, Thom S, Rodgers A. Quarter-dose quadruple combination therapy for initial treatment of hypertension - placebo-controlled crossover randomised trial and systematic review.  Lancet 2017; 389: 1035–1042
• Lafeber M, Spiering W, Visseren F, Grobbee D, Bots M, Stanton A, Patel A, Prabhakaran D, Webster R, Thom S, Rodgers A. Impact of switching from different treatment regimens to a fixed-dose combination pill (polypill) in patients with cardiovascular disease or similarly high risk.  Eur J Preventive Cardiology 2017; 24(9): 951-961
• Wild PS, Felix JF, Schillert A, Teumer A, …….., Thom S, ..……, Zeller T, Vasan RS, Dörr M. New genetic variants for cardiac structure and function – the EchoGen consortium  J Clinical Investigation 2017; 127(5): 1798-1812
• Riddell MA, Edwards N, Thompson SR, Bernabe-Ortiz A, Praveen D, Johnson C, Kengne AP, Liu P, ……., He F, MacGregor G, Jan S, Neal B, Chow C, Joshi R, MacMahon S, Patel A, Rodgers A, Webster R, ……, Prabhakaran D, Thom S, Shivashankar R, Mohan S, Reddy KS, Krishnan A. Developing consensus measures for global programs: lessons from the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases Hypertension research program. Globalization & Health 2017 13: 17 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-017-0242-8
• Bennett A, Chow CK, Chou M, Dehbi H-M, Webster R, Salam A, Patel A, Neal B, Peiris D, Thakkar J, Chalmers J, Nelson M, Reid C, Hillis GS, Woodward M, Hilmer S, Usherwood T, Thom S, Rodgers A. Efficacy and safety of quarter dose blood pressure lowering agents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Hypertension 2017 https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.09202 
• Wain LV, Vaez A, Jansen R, Joehanes R, ……, Thom S, ……., Caulfield MJ, Ehret GB, Alistair TY, Betholdson J-P, Xiao L. Novel blood pressure locus and gene discovery using GWAS & expression datasets from blood and the kidney.  Hypertension 2017; 70: e4-e19  https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.09438
• Webster R, Bullen C, Patel A, Selak V, Stepien S, Thom S, Rodgers A. Impact of switching to polypill based therapy by baseline potency of medication: Post-hoc analysis of the SPACE Collaboration data. Int J Cardiol 2017; 249: 443-447 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2017.09.162
• Sluyter JD, Camargo CA, Stewart AW, Waayer D, Lawes CMM, Toop L, Khaw KT, Thom SAM, Hametner B, Wassertheurer S, Parker KH, Hughes AD, Scragg R. Effect of monthly, high-dose, long-term vitamin D supplementation on central blood pressure parameters: a randomized controlled trial sub-study.  J Am Heart Assoc. 2017; 6:e006802.  DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.117.006802.
• Al-Lamee R, Thompson D, Dehbi H, Sayan S, Tang K, Davies J, Keeble T, Mielewczik M, Kaprielian R, Malik IS, Nijjer SS, Petraco R, Cook C, Ahmad Y, Howard J, Baker C, Sharp A, Gerber R, Talwar S, Assomull R, Mayet J, Wensel R, Collier D, Shun-Shin M, Thom SA, Davies JE, Francis DP. Percutaneous coronary intervention in stable angina (ORBITA): a double-blind, randomised controlled trial.  Lancet 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32714-9
• Bunker J, Chang C-L, Chapman N, Poulter N, Thom S, Sever P. True resistant hypertension following observed drug ingestion: a systematic evaluation.  J Clin Hypertension 2016. doi: 10.1111/jch.12896.
• Sluyter JD, Hughes AD, Thom SAMcG, Lowe A, Camargo CA, Hametner B, Wassertheurer S, Parker KH, Scragg RKR. Arterial waveform parameters in a large, population-based sample of adults: relationships with ethnicity & lifestyle factors.  J Human Hypertension 2017; 31: 305-312
• Webster R, Patel A, Selak V, Billot L, Bots ML, Brown A, Bullen C, Cass A, Crengle S, Elley CR, Grobbee DE, Neal B, Peiris D, Poulter N, Prabhakaran D, Rafter N, Stanton A, Stepien S, Thom S, Usherwood T, Wadham A, Rodgers A, on behalf of the SPACE Collaboration. Effectiveness of fixed dose combination medication (‘polypills’) compared with usual care in patients with cardiovascular disease or at high risk: a prospective, individual patient data meta-analysis of 3140 patients in six countries.  Intl J Cardiol 2016; 205: 147–156
• Selak V, Bullen C, Stepien S, Arroll B, Bots M, Bramley D, Cass A, Grobbee D, Hillis GS, Molanus B, Neal B, Patel A, Rafter N, Rodgers A, Thom S, Tonkin A, Usherwood T, Wadham A, Webster R. Do polypills lead to neglect of lifestyle risk factors? Findings from an individual participant data meta-analysis among 3140 patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease.  Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2016; 23(13): 1393-1400
• Hughes A, Falaschetti E, Witt N, Wijetunge S, Thom S, Tillin T, Aldington S, Chaturvedi N. Association of retinopathy and retinal microvascular abnormalities with stroke and cerebrovascular disease.  Stroke 2016; 47(11): 2862-2864
• Sofat R, Cooper JA, Kumari M, Casas JP, Mitchell J, Acharya J, Thom S, Hughes AD, Humphries SE, Hingorani AD. Circulating apolipoprotein E concentration and cardiovascular disease risk: meta-analysis of results from three studies.  PLoS Medicine  2016; 13(10): e1002146  http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002146
• Lafeber M, Grobbee DE, Schrover IM, Thom S, Webster R, Rodgers A, Visseren FL, Bots ML, Spiering W. Comparison of a morning polypill, evening polypill and individual pills on LDL-cholesterol, ambulatory blood pressure and adherence in high-risk patients; a randomized crossover trial.  Int J Cardiol 2015; 181: 193-199
• Barron AJ, Hughes AD, Sharp A, Baksi AJ, Surendran P, Jabbour RJ, Stanton A, Poulter N, Fitzgerald D, Sever P, O'Brien E, Thom S, Mayet J; on behalf of the ASCOT Investigators. Long-Term Antihypertensive Treatment Fails to Improve E/e' Despite Regression of Left Ventricular Mass: An Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial Substudy. Hypertension 2014; 63(2): 252-8
• Thom S, Rodgers A. Combination pill for cardiovascular disease [Reply]. JAMA 2014; 311: 93-4.
• Salam A, Webster R, Singh K, Kallakuri S, Rodgers A, Prabhakaran D, Maulik PK, Jan S, Thom S, Naik N, Guggilla R, Selak V, Patel A. TRIple pill vs Usual care Management for Patients with mild-to-moderate Hypertension (TRIUMPH): Study protocol.  Am Heart J.  2014; 167(2): 127-32
• Davies JE, Lacy P, Tillin T, Collier D, Cruickshank JK, Francis DP, Malaweera A, Mayet J, Stanton A, Williams B, Parker KH, Thom SAMcG, Hughes AD. Excess pressure integral predicts cardiovascular events independent of other risk factors in the conduit artery functional evaluation substudy of Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial.  Hypertension 2014; 64(1): 60-8
• Webster R, Patel A, Billot L, Cass A, Burch C, Neal B, Usherwood T, Thom S, Poulter N, Stanton A, Bots ML, Grobbee DE, Prabhakaran D, Reddy KS, Field J, Bullen C, Elley CR, Selak V, Rafter N, Wadham A, Berwanger O, Rodgers A. Prospective meta-analysis of trials comparing fixed dose combination-based care with usual care in individuals at high cardiovascular risk: the SPACE Collaboration.  International Journal of Cardiology 2013; 170 (1): 30-35
• Hughes A, Bathula R, Park C, Tillin T, Witt N, Thom S, Chaturvedi N. Microcirculatory rarefaction in South Asians - a potential mechanism for increased cardiovascular risk and diabetes.  PLOS One 2013 Oct 7; 8(10): e76680.  doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076680
• Hughes AD , Park C, March K, Coady E, Khir A, Chaturvedi N, Thom SAM. A randomized placebo controlled double blind crossover study of pioglitazone on left ventricular diastolic function in type 2 diabetes. Int J Cardiology 2013; 167: 1329–1332
• Thom S, Poulter N, Field J, Patel A, Prabhakaran D, Stanton A, Grobbee DE, Bots ML, Reddy KS, Cidambi R, Bompoint S, Billot L, Rodgers A, for the UMPIRE Collaborative Group. Effects of a fixed-dose combination strategy on adherence and risk factors in patients with or at high risk of CVD: The UMPIRE randomized clinical trial.  JAMA 2013; 310(9): 918-929
• Sever PS, Poulter NR, Chang CL, Thom SA, Hughes AD, Welsh P, Sattar N on behalf of the ASCOT Investigators. Evaluation of C-reactive protein prior to and on-treatment as a predictor of benefit from atorvastatin. A cohort analysis from the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial Lipid-Lowering Arm.  J Am Coll Cardiol 2013; 62(8): 717-729
• Zhang X, Luckham PF, Hughes AD, Thom S, Xu XY. Towards an understanding of the release behavior of temperature-sensitive liposomes: a possible explanation of the “pseudoequilibrium” release behavior at the phase transition temperature. J Liposome Research March 19, 2013. doi:10.3109/08982104.2013.779702
• Tapp R, Ness A, Williams C, Howe LD, Tilling K, Witt N, Chaturvedi N, Thom SMcG, Hughes AD. Differential effects of adiposity and childhood growth trajectories on retinal microvascular architecture. Microcirculation 2013;20(7): 609-16
• Hughes AD, Park C, Davies J, Francis D, Thom SAMcG, Mayet J, Parker KH. Limitations of augmentation index in the assessment of wave reflection in normotensive healthy individuals.  PLoS ONE 2013; 8(3): e59371. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059371
• Elley CR, Gupta AK, Webster R, Selak V, Jun M, Patel A, Rodgers, Thom S. The efficacy & tolerability of ‘polypills’: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. PLoS ONE 2012; e52145. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052145

Ongoing work

Nano-particle packaged thrombolysis for stroke with Rongjun Chen & Yun Xu (Chem Eng ICL), Isabelle Salles (Haematology ICL), Simon De Meyer (Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven, Belgium), Denis Vivien (Neurovascular Diseases INSERM, Caen, France), Colin Longstaff (National Institute for Biological Standards, UK), Alun Hughes (Population Science & Experimental Medicine, UCL).  Papers in draft arising from recent BRC support.  Patent application filed.  Funding application to BHF in progress, re-submission invited after review by ‘tech transfer’ panel.

Retinal vascular Image Computational Analysis (RICA) for CVD risk assessment:  adapting image analysis software for rapid and cheap use on smart-phone acquired retinal images with Kim Parker (Bioengineering ICL), Elena Martinez (Computer Sciences, University of Mexico), Alun Hughes (Population Science & Experimental Medicine, UCL). Papers in draft arising from recent BRC support and seeking industry &/ tech &/ academic partners.

PhD student supervision:  Frances Wood.  Co-supervisor with Profs Christine Norton & Darrel Francis.  Project based on SAMSON study (Self-Assessment Method for Statin side effects Or Nocebo) funded by BHF.  Rotational trial within subject blinded exposure to statin, placebo & no treatment assessing reported side effects, adherence and QOL to evaluate stain side effects.  Likely to give the clearest answer to the true nature of statin adverse effects; data collection complete.  Now analyzing and writing up (part-time); submission expected October 2020.

FOURIER Legacy study:  Endpoint /event adjudication panel c/o Prof Peter Sever & Dr Judy Mackay.  A long-term follow-up study of PCSK-9 treatment consequences following participation in an international lipid lowering trial.

ORBITA, Objective Randomised Blinded Investigation with optimal medical Therapy of Angioplasty (Lancet 2017):  further papers reporting results of secondary endpoints in detail, e.g. exercise monitoring, stress echo measures, drug adherence monitoring, quality of life.  These arise from data included in Dr David Thompson’s PhD awarded in 2018.

Meta-analysis of trials of various interventions for stable angina ranked by quality of design illustrating that increasing features of blinding & placebo randomisation progressively diminish effect.

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

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