Dr Junaid Zaman

Dr Junaid Zaman is cardiology and general medicine specialist registrar in the London Deanery and British Heart Foundation Clinical Research Fellow at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College.

He studied Medicine at Lincoln College, University of Oxford from 1998 - 2004, where he was awarded a  Scholarship and Exhibition for his performance in his undergraduate examinations, successfully passing all with distinction, including a supplementary paper in the History and Philosophy of Science.  

He went on to graduate with a BA in Physiological Sciences (First Class) and was awarded the Wronker Prize in Pharmacology.  His interest in cardiac electrophysiology and pharmacology was stimulated during undergraduate tutorials and resulted in a successful experimental dissertation project in the laboratory of Professor David Paterson, studying the effect of natriuretic peptides on pre-synaptic vagal tone.  He received an Association of Physicians Award for his work during this project.

His clinical training in Oxford was complemented by electives at Starship Hospital, Auckland; Cedars Sinai Hospital, UCLA and Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore where the desire to pursue a clinical academic career in cardiology became firmly established.

He won the Arthritis Research Council National Medical Students essay prize and was a highly commended entry for the Pain Relief Foundation National Medical Students Essay prize.  A strong interest in medical education and tutoring developed during clinical school, and he was awarded 'Teacher of the Month'  by the clinical students during his final year of study.  This was renewed again as a house officer whilst a Junior Clinical Tutor at Lincoln College and he was asked to give extra tutorial support to students who were struggling with finals preparation by the Dean.

His house officer training was at the Professorial Medical Unit in Leeds and the Nuffield Department of Surgery in Oxford.  His SHO training was on the Royal Postgraduate Hospitals rotation, rotating through the Royal Brompton Hospital, Hammersmith Hospital and National Hospital for Neurology, where he twice presented at the weekly 'Gowers Round' teaching sessions.

Having always had an interest in the physiological aspects of medicine, he took the opportunity to obtain some critical care and anaesthetic skills in a rotation at Medway Maritime Hospital which lasted 12 months.  The interface between cardiac physiology in health and disease is nowhere better realised than in the hyperacute environments of intensive care and during anaesthesia.  

Having obtained the necessary skill set to move onto registrar training, he applied for an Academic Clinical Fellowship in the North West Deanery, training in general medicine and cardiology at Wigan Hospital and Royal Oldham Hospital.  His academic time was spent in Professors David Eisner and Andrew Trafford's laboratory working on a  model of catecholamine induced polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT).

With an interest in translational electrophysiology research being the focus of his higher specialist training, he applied and was awarded a new Academic Clinical Fellowship  in the London Deanery (Imperial College), during which time he was awarded a BHF Clinical Research Fellowship and finished his core cardiology training at St Mary's and Hammersmith Hospitals.  

In October 2011 he started full time research with Professor Peters group looking at mechanisms of atrial fibrillation in an effort to increase understanding of the cellular pathophysiology of this common condition, which may hopefully lead to novel therapeutic targets to complement current ablative strategies. He continues to contribute to medical student teaching with undergraduate tutorials, critical analysis sessions and clinical outpatient teaching.