iBSc Cardiovascular Science

Explore the iBSc in Cardiovascular Science at UCL. Build a strong foundation in cardiovascular biology and clinical practice while gaining skills to lead in healthcare and research.

Introduction to Cardiovascular Sciences

About the course

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. UCL is one of only three UK universities offering an intercalated BSc (iBSc) in Cardiovascular Science. This multidisciplinary course provides undergraduate medical students with a rigorous foundation in the knowledge and skills relevant to cardiovascular science and its application in clinical and healthcare settings. The course covers emerging and exciting topics in diagnostics, advances in treatment, surgical interventions, and medical devices in cardiovascular disease. It provides a strong grounding for the MBBS Year 4 Cardiology Module and enhances career prospects for those wishing to specialise in vascular physiology and cardiology.

Our world-leading biomedical clinicians and researchers teach on this course from departments and faculties across the School of Life and Medical Sciences at UCL, including representatives from:

Institute of Cardiovascular Science
Division of Medicine
Institute of Child Health
Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care
Divisions of Biosciences

With constant interaction between students and tutors, interactive and practical sessions are important features of the course. In many instances, students will have the flexibility to expand on an area that is of interest to them particularly through the research project that runs throughout the academic year. This can be laboratory focussed (wet-lab), clinically focussed, population-science focussed or engineering focussed. This flexibility, along with interaction with internationally known, expert researchers and clinicians in the cardiovascular field will provide a varied and dynamic year. By the end of the course, students will be empowered with contemporary knowledge of different approaches and interventions that can be harnessed for a personalised medicine approach in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Learning objectives

Develop an understanding of common cardiovascular diseases and their management.
Appreciate controversies and as well as the limitations of current knowledge.
Critically appraise research and the evidence base for current and future clinical practice.
To become an independent learner and gain transferable skills.
Better inform your practice as a doctor in the future, particularly in the field cardiology and cardiovascular medicine.

Course Structure

The course has been designed to provide 3rd year medical students with a connected curriculum in cardiovascular medicine, which feeds into a series of clinical case studies. This one-year course is made up of 120 credits. The modules (worth 90 credits) cover a variety of aspects of heart and vascular function in health and disease from pathophysiology, pharmacology and therapeutic strategies through to genetic and anatomical basis of congenital heart disease. You then choose two additional optional modules (15 credits each). Each module is led by one or more course tutors who direct the content of the module and oversee tutorials or and laboratory-based practicals.

Core modules

Optional modules

Independent research project

For the independent research project (CARD0002) students can organise their own project, or alternatively we provide a booklet of available projects. Students then submit their preferred projects and we use an automated unbiased, and anonymous minimisation algorithm to perform the final allocation. This process is fully transparent (the code is available on the Institute of Cardiovascular Science Github repo) and is designed to ensure the fairest spread of choices across the entire cohort.

Below is a sample of project titles offered to the 2025-26 cohort. Please note that the projects offered are different every year, and these are examples to give you an indication of the breadth of projects we offer:

Prevalence and risk factors for infective endocarditis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the young
Measuring markers of cardiac disease from pacemaker sensors monitoring the heart
Patient reported outcomes measures (PROMS) in heart failure in adult congenital heart diseases - validation of MLHFQ and KCCQ
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in sepsis
Predictors of clinical response to mavacamten in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Normal heart values in cardiac magnetic resonance in healthy participants from low-middle income countries
Understanding mechanisms of pacemaker lead failure
Characterising the relationship between sex/gender and cardiometabolic disease and skeletal muscle microvascular compliance in humans
Artificial intelligence analysis in serial echocardiography: Measurement variability stratified by image quality in patients with cancer
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in congenital diaphragmatic hernia
The deep CMR phenotype of Gordon and Gitelman syndromes
Understanding the natural history of mineralisation at the pacemaker lead-myocardial interface

Skeletal muscle haemodynamics and cardiopulmonary fitness in young men and women
Using genetics to characterise the early evolution of arterial stiffness in the young
Cardiovascular and metabolic changes throughout the menopause
The stress and rest perfusion phenotypes of older age participants in the MyoFit46 Study
Racial disparities in cardiovascular disease risks: focus on obesity, diabetes and hypertension - a scoping review
Regional analysis of skeletal muscle blood flow and oxidative capacity using high-density near-infrared Spectroscopy (HD-NIRS)
The electrocardiographic imaging phenotypes of older age participants in the MyoFit46 Study
2-Dimensional speckle tracking versus 3-Dimensional speckle tracking at rest and during exercise
Piloting an app-based randomized controlled trial to determine the minimum amount of exercise to improve mental and physical health among university students
Testing a new multisensory wearable device to comprehensively assess the cardiovascular response to standardized physical challenges
The advanced ECG phenotypes of older age participants in the MyoFit46 Study
Development of non-invasive methods of measuring brain and skeletal muscle function during exercise in healthy adults

Transcytosis or junction opening: understanding and targeting vascular leakage pathways across the blood brain barrier
Modulation of the blood-brain barrier by phospholipids
Studying the damaging effects of uremic toxins on the heart in the setting of chronic kidney disease
Decoding ADAMTS7: linking enzymatic activity to coronary heart disease

Machine learning in congenital heart disease imaging
Developing a medical robot for MR guided cardiac catheterisation
A study into the size, shape and function of the aortic root across health and disease
Exploring the use of virtual reality for data visualization in electrophysiology (EP) procedures
Machine learning for segmentation of the heart in mice models
Comparing percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation device fit in a population of patients indicated for pulmonary valve replacement
A comparative study of aortic measurements in Aortopathies
Fractal and lacunarity analysis of the left atrial appendage
Synchrotron imaging data processing of an explanted human heart with complex conditions
The geometry, analysis and surgical repair of congenital malformed heart valves
Exploring the impact of using virtual reality for planning surgical repair of congenital heart diseases

Student achievements and publications

The following students have been awarded/nominated prizes for their achievement during their iBSc in Cardiovascular Science.

Deans List

Every year the Dean recognises excellent students from across the Faculty of Medical Sciences. The Dean's List is a commendation to students of excellence. Previous nominations for students from the iBSc in Cardiovascular Science include:

2024-25: Arnav Rustogi (nominated)
2023-24: Eshaan Ghei (nominated)
2022-23: Meriam Abdelmoumene (nominated)
2021-22: Sumayyah Tahsin (nominated)
2020-21: Christos Charalambous (nominated)

Faculty Medal

Every year the Faculty of Population Science (which the Institute of Cardiovascular Science sits within) awards a medal on the basis of academic excellence to the student who is deemed to have produced outstanding work during the course of their undergraduate degree programme. Previous nominations and awards for students from the iBSc in Cardiovascular Science include:

2024-25: Arnav Rustogi (nominated)
2023-24: Eshaan Ghei (awarded)
2022-23: Meriam Abdelmoumene (awarded)
2021-22: Sumayyah Tahsin (awarded)
2020-21: Christos Charalambous (awarded)

Jane Dacre Prize

This prize is made on the basis of an outstanding non laboratory-based iBSc project. The prize is open for competition among students reading for the MBBS degrees at UCL Medical School. Previous nominations for students from the iBSc in Cardiovascular Science include:

2024-25: Rumaisaa Pathan (nominated)
2023-24: Nikhil Kadambadi (nominated)
2022-23: George Ponodath (nominated)

H.A.B. Simons prize

This prize is made on the basis of an outstanding laboratory-based iBSc project. The prize is open for competition among students reading for the MBBS degrees at UCL Medical School. Previous nominations for students from the iBSc in Cardiovascular Science include:

2024-25: Maynaka Thepnumsommanus (nominated)
2023-24: Fatima Ekmi (nominated)
2022-23: Meriam Abdelmoumene (nominated)
2021-22: Sumayyah Tahsin (nominated)

Sheila Glennis Haworth Prize

This prize is awarded each year to the highest performing student across the iBSc in Cardiovascular Science cohort. Previous awards include:

2024-25: Arnav Rustogi (awarded)
2023-24: Nikhil Kadambadi (awarded)
2022-23: Ameera Milhan (awarded)
2021-22: Sumayyah Tahsin (awarded)
2020-21: Christos Charalambous (awarded)

UCL Wolfson Foundation Intercalated Degree Research Fellowship

This award is administered by the Royal College of Physicians for outstanding iBSc students at selected medical schools, who are likely to pursue a medical research career. The fund awards up to £5000 for the student to spend on activities external to their studies, and to support living costs in London.

2024-25: Abhinav Kandala (awarded)
2023-24: Swapnanil De (awarded)

The course has been running since 2016 and is extremely successful. Students are regularly offered PhD studentships and a number of students have been awarded places on academic foundation programmes. Students have frequently received co-authorships on scientific papers and conference presentations off the back of their research projects. Some recent abstracts/publications which have come about as part of their iBSc research projects, as shown below:

Journal Papers

Kadambadi N, Webber M, Captur G, Electrocardiographic imaging: technical developments and future applications for non-invasive electroanatomical study of the human heart: Heart (2025). doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2024-324963

Topriceanu C, Al-Farih M, Joy G, Chan F, Webber M, Ilie-Ablachim D, Shiwani H, Tamang M, Banks C, Pettit S, Petersen S, O’Brien B, Hughes A, Pierce I, Moody W, Steeds R, Puddu P, Kellman P, Savvatis K, Mohiddin S, Moon J, Barison A, Piras P, Captur G, The Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Phenotype of Lamin Heart Disease, J Am Coll Cardiol Img. (2025), 18 (6) 644–660. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2025.01.004

Sabarigirivasan V, Read J, Ridout D, Hoskote A, Sheehan K, Wellman P, Jones A, Wray J, Brown K Ages and Stages Questionnaires in the assessment of young children after cardiac surgery, Cardiology in the Young. (2025);35(1):144-151. doi: 10.1017/S1047951124026477.

Blase A, di Girasole C, Benjamin L. Turowski P, Phased blood-brain barrier disruption in ischaemic stroke: implications for therapy? Fluids Barriers CNS (2025); 22, 90. doi: 10.1186/s12987-025-00701-5

Sittichokkananon A, Garfield V, Chiesa, S, Genetic and Lifestyle Risks for Coronary Artery Disease and Long-Term Risk of Incident Dementia Subtypes, Circulation, (2025) 151(17), 1235-1247. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.070632

Bhatt B, Amir H, Jones S, Jamieson A, Chaturvedi N, Hughes A, Orini M Validation of a popular consumer-grade cuffless blood pressure device for continuous 24 h monitoring, European Heart Journal - Digital Health, Volume 6, Issue 4, July 2025, Pages 704–712, doi: 10.1093/ehjdh/ztaf044

Frost O, Ridout D, Rodrigues W, Wellman P, Cassidy J, Tsang V, Dorobantu D, Stoica S, Hoskote A, Brown K, Prospective evaluation of acute neurological events after paediatric cardiac surgery, Cardiology in the Young. (2024);34(7):1535-1543. doi: 10.1017/S1047951124000167

Topriceanu C, Dev E, Ahmad M, Hughes R, Shiwani H, Webber M, Direk K, Wong A, Ugander M, Moon J, Hughes A, Maddock J, Schlegel T, Captur G , Accelerated DNA methylation age plays a role in the impact of cardiovascular risk factors on the human heart, Clin Epigenet 15, 164 (2023). doi: 10.1186/s13148-023-01576-9

Topriceanu C, Fornasiero M, Seo H, Webber M, Keenan K, Stupic K, Bruehl R, Ittermann B, Price K, McGrath L, Pang W, Hughes AD Nezafat R, Kellman P, Pierce I, Moon J, Captur G, Developing a medical device-grade T2 phantom optimized for myocardial T2 mapping by cardiovascular magnetic resonance. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. (2023) 20;25(1):19. doi: 10.1186/s12968-023-00926-z.

Butcher C, Rajappan S, Wharmby A, Ullah W, Wong T, Jones D, Rajappan K, Martin C, Elliott P, Gill J, Specterman M, Dhinoja M, Sporton S, Lambiase P, Hunter R, Honarbakhsh S, Atrioventricular nodal ablation is an effective management strategy for atrial fibrillation in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, HearRhythm, (2023) Volume 20, Issue 12, 1606 – 1614. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2023.08.028

Charalambous C, Moon J, Holly J, Chaturvedi N, Hughes A, Captur G, Declining Levels and Bioavailability of IGF-I in Cardiovascular Aging Associate With QT Prolongation-Results From the 1946 British Birth Cohort, Front Cardiovasc Med. (2022) 22;9:863988. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.863988.

Conference Abstracts

Conference: BCS 2025: Topriceanu C, Webber M, Shiwani H, Chan F, Martin E, Falconer D, Bennett J, Gonzales P, Shah H, Wong A, Pierce I, Davies R, Lamboase P, Chaturvedi N, Kellman P, Hardy R, Moon J, Hughes A, Captur G, Higher blood pressure across the life course can be linked to reduced myocardial perfusion in older age Heart 2025;111:A197-A199

Conference: British & Irish Hypertension Society Annual meeting 2025
Nominated for Top ranked EMCR abstracts (Mark Glover award): Pathan R, Resting Heart Rate Trajectories Across Life and Cardiovascular Risk: a Longitudinal British Birth Cohort Study

Conference: Artery 25: Shih J, Jones S, Hughes AD, Chiesa ST, Childhood Intelligence and the Emergence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors Across Adolescence

Conference: Artery 25: Chawla E, Li J, Jamieson A, Alghamdi L, George A, Zhao H, Hughes A, Jones S, Modelling skeletal muscle haemodynamics during incremental exercise using Near-infrared Spectroscopy

Conference: SCMR 2025, Falconer D, Vagliani G, Mehri M, Bhiri M, Whitmore I, Webber M, Bennett J, Martin E, Shah H, Lambiase P, Chaturvedi N, Moon J, Treibel T, Pierce I, Hughes A, Kellman P, Calmon G, Captur G, Diagnostic in-bore 12-lead ECGs during adenosine stress perfusion CMR–results from MyoFit46, Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Volume 27, 101236. doi: 10.1016/j.jocmr.2024.101236

Conference: ESC Congress 2024: Martin, R Maclean E, Sevier L, Page H, Ganeswaran T, Lamelas R, Whittaker-Axon S, Martin S, Ahluwalia N, Tonko J, Monkhouse C, Lambiase P, Dhinoja M, Atrial rates during treated ventricular tachycardia in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators: clinical implications of a vagal sinus node response, European Heart Journal, Volume 45, Issue Supplement_1, October 2024, ehae666.716, doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae666.716

Conference: ESC Congress 2024: Webber M, Kadambadi N, Joy G, Bennett J, Chan F, Falconer D, Gonzalez Martin P, Davies R, Orini M, Lambiase P, Chaturvedi N, Hughes A, Kellman P, Moon J, Captur G, National Survey of Health and Development, Subclinical myocardial fibrosis is almost ubiquitous in the hearts of older British persons: 'MyoFit46' cardiovascular sub-study of the NSHD, European Heart Journal, Volume 45, Issue Supplement_1, October 2024, ehae666.3131, doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae666.3131

Conference: ESC Congress 2024: Varma A, Webber M, Captur G, Rest and stress aortic flow analysis by CMR in MyoFit46, EP Europace, Volume 26, Issue Supplement_1, 2024, euae102.628, doi: 10.1093/europace/euae102.628

Conference: ESC Congress 2024, Iyer P, Mok V, Rapala A, Charakida M, Dangardt F, Muthurangu V, Sattar N, Wade K, Timpson N, Hughes A, Deanfield J, Chiesa S, Assessment of body composition in young adulthood and its associations to early changes in cardiovascular phenotypes: a cross-sectional study, European Heart Journal, Volume 45, Issue Supplement_1, October 2024, ehae666.2737, doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae666.2737

Conference: SCMR 2024: Webber M, Varma, A, Joy, G, Bennett J, Chan F, Hughes R, Shiwani H, Davies R, Topriceanu C, Martin E, Wong A, Rapala A, Direk K, Manisty C, Chaturvedi N, Treibel T, Orini M, Evian T, Pierce I, Kellman P, Moon J, Hughes A, Bhuva A, Captur G, CMR Stress Aortic Flow in myofit46 – a Novel Approach Towards Dynamic Aortic Phenotyping, Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Volume 26, 100238. doi: 10.1016/j.jocmr.2024.100238

Conference: Heart Rhythm Conference 2023, Butcher C, Rajappan S, Wharmby A, Ahluwalia N, Dhinoja M, Sporton S, Lambiase P, Hunter R, Honarbakhsh S, Pace and Ablate is an Effective Management Strategy for Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Heart Rhythm, Volume 20, Issue 5, S292 - S293. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2023.03.1552

Conference: ESICM LIVES 2023: Pisciotta W, Saha T, Wu A, Kleyman A, Singer M.Cholesterol treatment increases cardiac Na+/K+ ATPase activity and improves dobutamine responsiveness in septic rats, Intensive Care Medicine Experimental 2023, 11 (Suppl 1):001400. doi: 10.1186/s40635-023-00546-y

Conference: ISPAD 23: Frampton D, Anwar-Choudhury M, Flores-Guerrero J, Orini M, Benitez-Aguirre P, Cameron F, Craig M, Couper J, Davis E, Dalton N, Daneman D, Donaghue K, Jones T, Mahmud F, Marshall S, Neil A, Deanfield J, Loredana Marcovecchio M, Chiesa S , Reduced Heart Rate Variability Is Associated With Arterial Stiffness In Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: The Addit Follow Up Study

Essential course information

This course is delivered by the Faculty of Population Health Sciences.

Location: London, Bloomsbury

Contact hours: Typical timetabled contact hours for iBSc courses range from approximately 10 to 15 hours per week, depending on the subject area. These hours generally consist of a combination of lectures, seminars, practical sessions and supervised project work. In addition, students are expected to undertake independent study throughout the year to support their learning and final project.

Course length: Full-time for one academic year.

Awards and qualifications: Upon successful completion of the 120 iBSc credits, you will be awarded Intercalated Bachelor of Science with Honours, iBSc (Hons) in the course undertaken.

Funding and costs: There are no mandatory additional costs beyond standard tuition fees. Full details on tuition fees, financial support, accommodation and living costs are available at:

Key dates:

Applications open: 1 December 2025
Internal applications close: 5 January 2026
External applications (dependant on internal allocations being completed): 23 February 2026.
External applications close: 31 March 2026

Eligibility criteria: To be eligible for iBSc study, you must have:

Enrolled on a UK MBBS course.
Successfully completed or about to complete the second year. If you are currently in your second year, any offer from us will be conditional that you pass your second year.

Capacity and allocation: Places on iBSc courses are capacity-limited and students are not guaranteed their first choice. Allocation is made through the iBSc matching process, which is used for UCL internal applicants only.

External applications: This course may accept applications from external students, depending on available capacity. Final confirmation on availability will be provided on 23 February.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

How To Apply

UCL/International Partner Student?

Apply now through Moodle

iBSc / MBBS Year 3

External Medical Student?

Complete and submit an application form.

External application

Got questions? Get in touch.

Audrey Everson

Undergraduate Education Administrator

ics.undergraduate@ucl.ac.uk +44 (0)20 7612 6589

iBSc Cardiovascular Science

Introduction to Cardiovascular Sciences

About the course

Learning objectives