Dr. Craig Lygate

Biography

Craig Lygate originally trained as a pharmacist at the University of Strathclyde and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, obtaining a Master's Research degree from the University of Manchester and a PhD in cardiovascular physiology at the University of Glasgow. In 2000, he moved to the University of Oxford to study cardiac energetics in the laboratory of Prof. Stefan Neubauer, establishing new cardiac phenotyping facilities and developing extensive expertise in the assessment of in vivo cardiac function in experimental models of hypertrophy, ischemia, and heart failure. From 2014 to 2024, Craig served as an Associate Professor in Cardiovascular Physiology at the University of Oxford, where he led a research group funded by the British Heart Foundation focused on the interaction between creatine and homoarginine metabolism. In summer 2024, Craig returned to the University of Glasgow as a Reader in Myocardial Biology. His research aims to understand the contribution of cellular energy metabolism to cardiac function in health and disease, particularly exploring the therapeutic potential of augmenting cardiac energetics in acute ischemia and chronic heart failure. A key focus of his current research is the creatine kinase system, as its regulation is essential for cardiac function. He also studies the metabolite homoarginine, which is linked to adverse cardiac outcomes. Craig is collaborating with Dr. Tanveer Tabish at the University of Oxford on a project to develop graphene-based nanoparticles for therapeutic delivery in cardiovascular applications and has led a UK patent application for a novel NO-generating coating for vascular stents.

Research Interests

Experience