Dr Jess Williams is a Research Fellow in Cardiovascular Metabolism within CURIAD. Jess’ work focuses on the inflammatory progression of cardiovascular disease, looking at methods of disease prevention and novel treatment options. Jess is a Medical Pharmacologist by training and later obtained a British Heart Foundation funded PhD from Cardiff University’s School of Medicine’ focused on the role of uncontrolled inflammation in the co-morbidity between rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease. She has since completed postdoctoral research associate roles at both Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Research Interests

Jess’ current work focuses on establishing novel methods to stop the progression of cardiovascular disease, with a focus on reducing inflammation. She is now working as a Research Fellow at Cardiff Metropolitan University, where her recent research, funded by the Stroke Association, focuses on using blood biomarkers to predict the risk of stroke in high-risk populations. This research assesses production and phenotypical analysis of populations of extracellular vesicles (EV) in high-risk cardiovascular patients. The project will assess EV reliability and usability as a predictive marker for stroke. Jess’ research also covers EV as a product, for example following blood product storage for transfusion, she is interested in the resultant effect of this process on cardiovascular outcomes.

Further to this Jess is involved in public health the collection of patient experience data, following a stroke to better understand the public’s perception of associated symptoms. It is hoped that applying a mixed methods approach will inform educational platforms to aid the public awareness of disease symptoms and foster a culture of taking ownership of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors.

Jess is also interested in the use of incorporating nutraceuticals in diet as a preventative measure to reduce cardiovascular burden. Her prior post-doctoral research focused on the use of omega-6 fatty acids to reduce inflammation association with atherosclerosis. She has more recently worked with flavonoids and carotenoids.

Jess is passionate about the patient voice in scientific research. To that end she is the Patient Public Involvement (PPI) lead for Stroke Hub Wales. Our mission is to ensure that the voices of experts by experience are at the heart of all stroke research carried out in Wales, creating an active partnership that allows true co-production of research. Recently, Jess has set up a new PPI group, which sits under the Centre for Activity and Wellbeing Research at Cardiff Met, which covers all aspects of Women’s Reproductive Health.