About us

The team

• Prof Kausik K. Ray

  

  Personal details

  Prof Kausik K. Ray Head of ICCP, Chair and Professor, Department of Primary Care and Public Health

  k.ray@imperial.ac.uk

  Professor Ray's research interests focus on the prevention of cardiovascular disease with a special interest in lipids and diabetes. He has investigated the early benefits of statin therapy, the advantages of more/less intensive glycaemic control, and the risks/benefits of aspirin therapy. These have influenced AHA/ACC and ESC guidelines. His work on statins and diabetes risk led to a global label change for statins by the FDA and EMEA. He continues to investigate the role of lipids, lipoproteins, diabetes, inflammation and thrombosis and coronary events. Currently, he leads the EAS Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) Studies collaboration, is the Senior Principle Investigator (PI) for the TOGETHER study and is the primary investigator for all other projects within ICCP.

• Dr Fotios Barkas

  

  Personal details

  Dr Fotios Barkas Clinical Researh Fellow

  f.barkas@imperial.ac.uk

  Dr Fotios Barkas is a Research Fellow involved in research projects, including the Familial Hypercholesterolemia Studies Collaboration, TOGETHER, and ZODIAC studies. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Ioannina and practices as a Consultant Internist, where he is a core member of one of Greece's largest lipid clinics. His clinical and research interests focus on cardiovascular disease prevention, particularly lipidology, obesity, and metabolic disorders. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society and an alumnus Young Fellow of the European Atherosclerosis Society.

• Dr Julia Brandts

  

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  Dr Julia Brandts Clinical Researh Fellow

  j.brandts@imperial.ac.uk

  Dr Julia Brandts is a Clinical Research Fellow completing cardiology residency at University Hospital Aachen whilst serving as an Honorary Research Associate at Imperial College London's Centre for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. She completed her medical education at Semmelweis University Budapest and obtained her MD from RWTH Aachen University. Her research focuses on epidemiological evaluation of cardiovascular disease prevention strategies, novel lipid-lowering therapies, and management of long-term complications such as heart failure. She has contributed to research on familial hypercholesterolaemia screening strategies and machine learning applications in cardiovascular disease detection. 

• Dr Kanika Dharmayat

  

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  Dr Kanika Dharmayat Research Associate Project Manager

  kanika.dharmayat13@ic.ac.uk

  Dr Kanika Dharmayat research focuses on cardiovascular disease prevention and lipid disorders, particularly familial hypercholesterolaemia. She completed her PhD at Imperial College London, with work published in The Lancet contributing to European Commission recommendations on paediatric FH screening. With over a decade of global health research experience, she has led high-impact international studies (>1,100 citations, h-index=13). Dr Dharmayat also leads the Digital Health module within the Master's in Public Health programme.

• Dr Irene Karungi

  

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  Dr Irene Karungi Research Assistant

  i.karungi@imperial.ac.uk

  Dr Irene Karungi is a medical doctor from Uganda with an MSc in Biostatistics, currently working as a Research Assistant in the cardiovascular research group. With her clinical background and statistical expertise, she brings valuable international perspectives to the team's research initiatives. Her transition from clinical practice to cardiovascular research demonstrates her commitment to advancing global cardiovascular health.

• Mr Sunganani Kwilasi

  

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  Mr Sunganani Kwilasi Database Manager

  s.kwilasi@imperial.ac.uk

  Mr Sunganani Kwilasi is Database Manager for the world's largest registry of patients with hypercholesterolaemia, overseeing data collection, quality control, and integration of heterogeneous datasets from over 70 countries. His expertise in harmonising diverse data sources whilst maintaining rigorous data integrity standards is essential to generating robust, globally representative evidence on familial hypercholesterolaemia detection and management. Prior to this role, Sunganani worked within the Public Health Department in Malawi, providing him with valuable insights into health systems challenges across resource-diverse settings.

• Dr Didac Llop

  

  Personal details

  Dr Didac Llop Paredes Research Associate

  d.llop-paredes@imperial.ac.uk

  Dr Didac Llop is a Research Associate specialising in statistical analysis, data management, and research on cardiovascular disease prevention. His work focuses on metabolic disturbances in general populations and individuals with familial hypercholesterolaemia, investigating factors beyond LDL-C that influence cardiovascular risk. With an interdisciplinary background spanning biology, statistics, and epidemiology, he combines biological insights with advanced statistical and machine learning techniques, completing his PhD in 2025 on cardiovascular biomarkers in inflammatory and metabolic disorders.

• Mr Christophe Stevens

  

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  Mr Christophe Stevens Software Engineer & Data Scientist

  christophe.stevens-@imperial.ac.uk

  Mr Christophe Stevens is an experienced information technology professional with over a decade of professional expertise in Medical Research and MedTech industries, specialising in cardiovascular disease prevention. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, with his thesis focused on web-based bedside pain management systems integrated with pharmaceutical databases, and a Master's degree in Medical Statistics, where he examined the expected value of information in health economics. Currently undertaking doctoral studies in Public Health, his research investigates digital health interventions for cardiovascular disease prevention through advanced web-based platforms and sophisticated quantitative modelling approaches, including advanced statistical methods and machine learning techniques.

• Dr Antonio Vallejo-Vaz

  

  Personal details

  Dr Antonio J. Vallejo-Vaz Clinical Research Fellow

  a.vallejo-vaz@imperial.ac.uk

  Dr Vallejo-Vaz is involved in different epidemiological research projects and evidence-synthesis studies related to cardiovascular risk factors and diseases. He is the main coordinator for the EAS Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC), an international initiative aiming to generate large scale robust data on how Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is detected and managed and the clinical consequences of the current practice on outcomes.

Acknowledgements

ICCP wishes to acknowledge the generosity of its funding partners (including the National Institute for Health Research, Pfizer, Regeneron, Amgen, Sanofi, and MSD) for supporting its staff and its diverse portfolio of research.