Aroon Hingorani

Aroon Hingorani, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at University College London, is an outstanding clinician scientist who has made contributions in clinical pharmacology and epidemiology. He pioneered a new approach, using human genomics, that helps to solve the high failure rate in drug development. His experimental studies in humans demonstrated that reduced nitric oxide availability and endothelial dysfunction mediates the effect of inflammation on cardiovascular disease. His computer-based tool for cardiovascular risk assessment to guide statin prescriptions changed practice. He showed that genetic variants influencing expression or function could be used to validate therapeutic targets. Industry has adopted this approach and it will double the drug development success rate, significantly reducing the financial risk to drug companies and expanding the range of treatments for patients.