Rate My Professor Caroline Wheeler-Jones

Professor Caroline Wheeler-Jones is Professor of Vascular Cell Biology in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the Royal Veterinary College. She earned a BSc (Hons) in Physiology and a PhD in Placental Physiology from the University of London in 1987, and holds Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) status. Her research centres on the molecular control of endothelial cell function in health and disease, investigating signalling pathways in human and animal endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, progenitor cells, and immune cells. Key areas include lipoprotein- and GPCR-mediated regulation of vascular cell function, cyclo-oxygenase expression and lipid mediators in angiogenesis, fibrosis, and calcification, pathophysiological roles of GPCRs such as protease-activated receptors, and lipid- and inflammation-mediated insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and vasculature. Funded by BBSRC, Wellcome Trust, and British Heart Foundation, her work employs in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo approaches to study pro- and anti-inflammatory gene expression and cellular functions triggered by G protein-coupled receptors, growth factors, and lipoproteins. An internationally recognised expert with over 20 years in vascular cell signalling and biology, she leads the Cardiovascular and Renal Biology research team.

Caroline Wheeler-Jones began her career with post-doctoral studies in human platelets at the Thrombosis Research Unit, King’s College London, followed by research on human endothelial cells with Professor Jeremy Pearson, supported by a British Heart Foundation Intermediate Fellowship that launched her independent research. She joined the Royal Veterinary College as a Lecturer in late 1997, advancing to her personal Chair. She has held key roles including Head of the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, BVetMed Cardiovascular and Respiratory Strand Leader, BSc Course Director, Director of Intercalation, and Chairman of the BSc Committee. She teaches cardiovascular anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology to BSc Bioveterinary Sciences, BVetMed, and Graduate BVetMed students, and has contributed to curriculum development, including establishing the third-year BSc BioVetSci programme and organising the alliance with King’s College London. Administratively, she has chaired undergraduate and postgraduate committees, served on examination boards, and acted as external examiner for veterinary and biomedical programmes at universities including Nottingham, Bristol, Dublin, Imperial, and King’s College London. She was a Member of RVC Council from 2010-2016 and has received the James Bee Educator Prize twice for teaching excellence. Selected publications include: Faulkner et al., 'Context-dependent regulation of endothelial cell metabolism: differential effects of the PPARβ/δ agonist GW0742 and VEGF-A' (Scientific Reports, 2020); Patel et al., 'Differing calcification processes in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells and osteoblasts' (Experimental Cell Research, 2019); Al-Rashed et al., 'Celecoxib exerts protective effects in the vascular endothelium via COX-2-independent activation of AMPK-CREB-Nrf2 signalling' (Scientific Reports, 2018); Lawson et al., 'The cat as a naturally occurring model of renal interstitial fibrosis' (PLoS One, 2018); and Lawson et al., 'Renal fibrosis in feline chronic kidney disease' (Veterinary Journal, 2015).