Dr. Markus B Sikkel
MBBS (Hons), BSc (Hons), MRCP, MRCS
Last updated 17/12/17
E-mail:
Date of Birth: 8th Jan 1980
Marital Status: Married
CPSBC#: 47117
GMC#: 6104133
Current Appointments
1. Clinical Fellow in Cardiac Electrophysiology, Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria from 10/2017
2. Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Victoria, from 12/2017
3. Honorary Clinical Lecturer, Imperial College London, UK from 10/2017
Relevant Previous Appointments
Electrophysiogy and Devices Fellow and Cardiology Specialist Registrar (ST5-7), Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust, 10/2014 – 10/2017
Walport Clinical Lecturer in Cardiology, NHLI, Imperial College London, 04/2015-10/2017
Specialist Registrar in Cardiology (ST4), Northwick Park and Central Middlesex Hospitals 10/2013-10/2014
Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellow, Imperial College London 10/2010-10/2013
Specialist Registrar in Cardiology, Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust 08/2009-10/2010
Walport Academic Clinical Fellow and Cardiology Specialist Registrar (ST3), Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust, 10/2009 – 10/2010
Education
2010-2013 Imperial College Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellow
1998-2004 Imperial College School of Medicine
1993-1998 Reading Boys School, Reading
Qualifications
2017 – CCT in Cardiology. General Medical Council, UK
2015 – PhD - Arrhythmogenic Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Leak In Isolated Ventricular Cardiomyocytes - Changes In Heart Failure And Mechanisms Of Pharmacological Modulation. Imperial College London
2008 – MRCP Royal College of Physicians, England
2006 – MRCS Royal College of Surgeons, England
2004 – MBBS (Hons) with distinction and prizes, Imperial College London
2002 – BSc. (Hons) in Medical Sciences with Pharmacology and Toxicology – First Class Honours, Imperial College London
Clinical Specialization
Having trained for over 3 years as a fellow in electrophysiology and devices I have performed over 400 EP procedures and over 500 Pacing procedures. I am skilled in complex ablation (including AF, ATach and VT ablation) as well as complex pacing techniques (CRT, lead extraction, subcutaneous ICD implantation). Full procedural log is available on request.
Selected Prizes and Honours
RESEARCH
1. Imperial College Clinical Academic Trainee Conference Oral Presentation First Prize, Annual Research Symposium 07/06/2017
2. Heart Rhythm Society Young Investigator Award, Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Sessions, Chicago, 12/5/2017
3. NHLI Thesis Prize 2015, NHLI, Imperial College London, 13/6/2015
4. 3rd Place Poster Prize, European Cardiac Arrhythmia Society Annual Meeting 19/4/2015
5. Best Poster Prize, Basic Science Category (European Working Group on Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology) at EHRA/Europace Annual Meeting, Athens, 24/6/2013
6. Highly Commended Oral Presentation, National Heart and Lung Institute Postgraduate Research Day, London, 21/6/2013
7. Best Poster Prize, Basic Science Category (BAS/BSCR), British Cardiovascular Society Annual Meeting, London, 4/6/13
8. Best Poster Prize, Imperial College Academic Trainees Annual Event 9/5/2013
9. Travel awards to attend:
a. European Working Group on Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology Meeting, Athens, 06/2013
b. Gordon Research Conference on Cardiac Arrhythmia Mechanisms, Ventura, California, 02/2013
MEDICAL SCHOOL
1. Distinction in Clinical Practice 2004
2. Faculty of Medicine Award (one of eight) for best overall performance in finals 2004
3. Victor Ludorum Llewellyn Prize for clinical pharmacology 2004
4. Surgery, Medicine & Pharmacology Honours 2004
5. Duke Elder Prize Examination for ophthalmology 03/2004: Ranked Second nationally.
6. The A.H. Bygott Scholarship for Public Health Medicine – awarded by the trustees of the University of London 2003
7. Third Year Examinations in Medicine and Surgery 06/2001 – Distinction
8. Second Year Examinations 06/2000 – Merit
9. First Year Examinations 06/1999 – Distinction
PRIOR NATIONAL AWARDS
1. OCEAC Prize for Biology – ranked first across three exam boards for best overall performance nationally and internationally in A-Level Biology. 1998
2. OCEAC Certificate of Excellence for Chemistry – top 5 in A-Level Chemistry nationally and internationally across three exam boards 1998
3. The Institute of Mechanical Engineers top 150 Award 07/1996 – presented to the 150 students with the best GCSE results in the United Kingdom.
Grants Awarded
Primary Applicant
- Academy of Medical Sciences Starter Grant: Enhancing the Therapeutic Index of Anti-arrhythmic Agents In Ischaemia through use of Hypoxia Activated Pro-drugs - £29,981- July 2016
- NIHR BRC Funding, Identification of Electrograms and Anatomical Locations that Correlate with Responses to High Frequency Stimulation during AF Ablation - £4961 – Nov 2015
- NIHR Walport Clinical Lecturer Post: Provides ~£45,000/year salary costs for up to 4 years - Apr 2015 onward – Apr 2019
- Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellowship, Good and bad sparks - Identifying and targeting arrhythmogenic calcium sparks in the failing heart. Oct 2010- Oct 2013 £265,544
- Travel grants: ESC Congress 2012, Gordon Conference Arrhythmia 2013, EWGCCE Conference 2013 Total £1050
Co-Applicant
- Boston Scientific Group, High Density Mapping for WACA Completion: Use of a High Density Mapping System to Complete Wide Area Circumferential Ablation of the Pulmonary Veins and Avoid Antral Segmental Ablation.Sept 2015 £63,443
Supervised Students
- Mit Shah “Does flecainide alter sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release events in normal and post-myocardial infarction cardiac myocytes?”, BSc Project 2011 (1st Class Honours)
- Becker Al-Khayatt “Ranolazine Reduces Arrhythmogenic Calcium Waves in Ventricular Cardiomyocytes”, BSc Project 2013 (2:1)
Publications
1. Sikkel MB, Francis DP, Howard J, Gordon F, Rowlands C, Peters NS, Lyon AR, Harding SE, MacLeod KT. Hierarchical Statistical Techniques are Necessary to Draw Reliable Conclusions from Analysis of Isolated Cardiomyocyte Studies. Cardiovasc Res. 2017 Aug 30. doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvx151. [Epub ahead of print]
2. Perbellini F, Watson SA, Scigliano M, Alayoubi S, Tkach S, Bardi I, Quaife N, Kane C, Dufton NP, Simon A, Sikkel MB, Faggian G, Randi AM, Gorelik J, Harding SE, Terracciano CM. Investigation of cardiac fibroblasts using myocardial slices. Cardiovasc Res. 2017 Aug 18. doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvx152. [Epub ahead of print]
3. Sikkel MB*, Sau A* (joint 1st authors), Luther V, Wright I, Guerrero F, Koa-Wing M, Lefroy D, Linton N, Qureshi N, Whinnett Z, Lim PB, Kanagaratnam P, Peters NS, Davies DW. The sawtooth EKG pattern of typical atrial flutter is not related to slow conduction velocity at the cavotricuspid isthmus. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2017 Aug 22. doi: 10.1111/jce.13323. [Epub ahead of print]
4. Schobesberger S, Wright P, Tokar S, Bhargava A, Mansfield C, Glukhov AV, Poulet C, Buzuk A, Monszpart A, Sikkel M, Harding SE, Nikolaev VO, Lyon AR, Gorelik J. T-tubule remodelling disturbs localized β2-adrenergic signalling in rat ventricular myocytes during the progression of heart failure. Cardiovasc Res. 2017 Jun 1;113(7):770-782.
5. Ng FS, Guerrero F, Luther V, Sikkel M, Lim PB. Microreentrant left atrial tachycardia circuit mapped with an ultra-high-density mapping system. HeartRhythm Case Rep. 2017 Feb 15;3(4):224-228.
6. Sikkel M*, Luther V* (joint 1st authors), Bennett N, Guerrero F, Leong K, Qureshi N, Ng FS, Hayat SA, Sohaib SM, Malcolme-Lawes L, Lim E, Wright I, Koa-Wing M, Lefroy DC, Linton NW, Whinnett Z, Kanagaratnam P, Davies DW, Peters NS, Lim PB. Visualizing Localized Reentry With Ultra-High Density Mapping in Iatrogenic Atrial Tachycardia: Beware Pseudo-Reentry. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2017 Apr;10(4).
7. Sikkel MB, Luther V, Sau A, Guerrero F, Ng FS, Lim PB. High-Density Electroanatomical Mapping to Identify Point of Epicardial to Endocardial Breakthrough in Perimitral Flutter. JACC EP Feb 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacep.2016.11.007
8. Williams AJ, Bannister ML, Thomas NL, Sikkel MB, Mukherjee S, Maxwell C, MacLeod KT, George CH. Questioning flecainide's mechanism of action in the treatment of catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. J Physiol. 2016 Nov 1;594(21):6431-6432.
9. Sanchez-Alonso JL, Bhargava A, O'Hara T, Glukhov AV, Schobesberger S, Bhogal N, Sikkel MB, Mansfield C, Korchev YE, Lyon AR, Punjabi PP, Nikolaev VO, Trayanova NA, Gorelik J. Microdomain-Specific Modulation of L-Type Calcium Channels Leads to Triggered Ventricular Arrhythmia in Heart Failure. Circ Res. 2016 Sep 30;119(8):944-55.
10. Toepfer CN, Sikkel MB, Caorsi V, Vydyanath A, Torre I, Copeland O, Lyon AR, Marston SB, Luther PK, Macleod KT, West TG, Ferenczi MA. A post-MI power struggle: adaptations in cardiac power occur at the sarcomere level alongside MyBP-C and RLC phosphorylation. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2016 Aug 1;311(2):H465-75.
11. Malcolme-Lawes L, Sandler BC, Sikkel MB, Lim PB, Kanagaratnam P. Ablation therapy for left atrial autonomic modification. Auton Neurosci. 2016 Aug;199:80-7.
12. Hartley A, Marshall DC, Salciccioli JD, Sikkel MB, Maruthappu M, Shalhoub J. Trends in Mortality from Ischaemic Heart Disease and Cerebrovascular Disease in Europe: 1980-2009. Circulation. 2016 May 17;133(20):1916-26.
13. Luther V, Sikkel MB, Wright I, Faulkner M, Qureshi N, Lefroy DC. A Collapsed Sportsman With a Shock Advised in Sinus Rhythm: The Importance of Automated External Defibrillator Rhythm Strip Retrieval Prior to Defibrillator Implantation. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2016 Apr;9(4).
14. Sikkel MB, Kumar S, Maioli V, Rowlands C, Gordon F, Harding SE, Lyon AR, Macleod KT, Dunsby CW. High speed sCMOS-based oblique plane microscopy applied to the study of calcium dynamics in cardiac myocytes. J Biophotonics. 2016 Mar;9(3):311-23.
15. Miragoli M, Sanchez-Alonso JL, Bhargava A, Wright PT, Sikkel M, Schobesberger S, Diakonov I, Novak P, Castaldi A, Cattaneo P, Lyon AR, Lab MJ, Gorelik J. Microtubule-Dependent Mitochondria Alignment Regulates Calcium Release in Response to Nanomechanical Stimulus in Heart Myocytes. Cell Rep. 2016 Jan 5;14(1):140-51.
16. Glukhov AV, Balycheva M, Sanchez-Alonso JL, Ilkan Z, Alvarez-Laviada A, Bhogal N, Diakonov I, Schobesberger S, Sikkel MB, Bhargava A, Faggian G, Punjabi PP, Houser SR, Gorelik J. Direct Evidence for Microdomain-Specific Localization and Remodeling of Functional L-Type Calcium Channels in Rat and Human Atrial Myocytes. Circulation. 2015 Dec 22;132(25):2372-84.
17. Roca-Alonso L, Castellano L, Mills A, Dabrowska AF, Sikkel MB, Pellegrino L, Jacob J, Frampton AE, Krell J, Coombes RC, Harding SE, Lyon AR, Stebbing J. Myocardial MiR-30 downregulation triggered by doxorubicin drives alterations in β-adrenergic signaling and enhances apoptosis. Cell Death Dis. 2015 May 7;6:e1754.
18. Lagarto J, Dyer BT, Talbot C, Sikkel MB, Peters NS, French PM, Lyon AR, Dunsby C. Application of time-resolved autofluorescence to label-free in vivo optical mapping of changes in tissue matrix and metabolism associated with myocardial infarction and heart failure. Biomed Opt Express. 2015 Jan 7;6(2):324-46.
19. Bannister ML, Thomas NL, Sikkel MB, Mukherjee S, Maxwell C, MacLeod KT, George CH, Williams AJ. The Mechanism of Flecainide Action in CPVT Does Not Involve a Direct Effect on RyR2. Circ Res. 2015 Apr 10;116(8):1324-35.
20. Chahine MN, Mioulane M, Sikkel MB, O'Gara P, Dos Remedios CG, Pierce GN, Lyon AR, Földes G, Harding SE. Nuclear pore rearrangements and nuclear trafficking in cardiomyocytes from rat and human failing hearts. Cardiovasc Res. 2015 Jan 1;105(1):31-43.
21. Land S, Niederer SA, Louch WE, Røe AT, Aronsen JM, Stuckey DJ, Sikkel MB, Tranter MH, Lyon AR, Harding SE, Smith NP. Computational modeling of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: effect of spatially varying β-adrenergic stimulation in the rat left ventricle. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2014 Nov 15;307(10):H1487-96.
22. Shalhoub J, Sikkel MB, Davies KJ, Vorkas PA, Want EJ, Davies AH. Systems biology of human atherosclerosis. Vasc Endovascular Surg. 2014 Jan;48(1):5-17.
23. Sikkel MB, Hayward C, Macleod KT, Harding SE, Lyon AR. SERCA2a gene therapy in heart failure: an anti-arrhythmic positive inotrope. Br J Pharmacol. 2014 Jan;171(1):38-54.
24. Wright PT, Nikolaev VO, O'Hara T, Diakonov I, Bhargava A, Tokar S, Schobesberger S, Shevchuk AI, Sikkel MB, Wilkinson R, Trayanova NA, Lyon AR, Harding SE, Gorelik J. Caveolin-3 regulates compartmentation of cardiomyocyte beta2-adrenergic receptor-mediated cAMP signaling. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2013 Dec 15;67:38-48.
25. Shah M, Sikkel MB. Coronary artery disease and age: beyond atherosclerosis. J Physiol. 2013 Dec 1;591(Pt 23):5807-8.
26. Sikkel MB, MacLeod KT, Gordon F. Letter by Sikkel et al regarding article, "Late sodium current inhibition reverses electromechanical dysfunction in human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy". Circulation. 2013 Sep 3;128(10):e156.
27. Tranter MH, Wright PT,Sikkel MB, Lyon AR. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: the pathophysiology. Heart Fail Clin. 2013 Apr;9(2):187-96.
28. Sikkel MB, Collins TP, Rowlands C, Shah M, O'Gara P, Williams AJ, Harding SE, Lyon AR, Macleod KT. Triple mode of action of flecainide in Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia: Reply. Cardiovasc Res. 2013 May 1;98(2):327-8.
29. Toepfer C, Caorsi V, Kampourakis T,Sikkel MB, West TG, Leung MC, Al-Saud SA, Macleod KT, Lyon AR, Marston SB, Sellers JR, Ferenczi MA. Myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) phosphorylation change as a modulator of cardiac muscle contraction in disease. J Biol Chem. 2013 May 10;288(19):13446-54.
30. Caorsi V, Toepfer C, Sikkel MB, Lyon AR, MacLeod KT, Ferenczi MA. Non-Linear Optical Microscopy Sheds Light on Cardiovascular Disease. PLOS One. 2013 Feb 7.
31. Sikkel MB, Collins TP, Rowlands C, Shah M, O'Gara P, Williams AJ, Harding SE, Lyon AR, Macleod KT. Flecainide Reduces Ca2+ Spark and Wave Frequency Via Inhibition of The Sarcolemmal Sodium Current. Cardiovasc Res. 2013 May 1;98(2):286-96.
32. Paur H, Wright PT, Sikkel MB, Tranter MH, Mansfield C, O'Gara P, Stuckey DJ, Nikolaev VO, Diakonov I, Pannell L, Gong H, Sun H, Peters NS, Petrou M, Zheng Z, Gorelik J, Lyon AR, Harding SE. High levels of circulating epinephrine trigger apical cardiodepression in a β(2)-adrenergic receptor/G(i)-dependent manner: a new model of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Circulation. 2012 Aug 7;126(6):697-706.
33. Lyon AR, Nikolaev VO, Miragoli M, Sikkel MB, Paur H, Benard L, Hulot JS, Kohlbrenner E, Hajjar RJ, Peters NS, Korchev YE, Macleod KT, Harding SE, Gorelik J. Plasticity of surface structures and β(2)-adrenergic receptor localization in failing ventricular cardiomyocytes during recovery from heart failure. Circ Heart Fail. 2012 May 1;5(3):357-65.
34. Kumar S, Wilding D, Sikkel MB, Lyon AR, MacLeod KT, Dunsby C, High-speed 2D and 3D fluorescence microscopy of cardiac myocytes, Opt. Express 201119, 13839-13847
35. Shalhoub J, Sikkel MB. The attributes of a good medical trainee: how to build your portfolio. Br J Hosp Med (Lond). 2009 Jun 10; 70(6):M92-M95.
36. Abbas A, Sikkel MB, Collins JP, Davies CW, Chen F. A cryptic diagnosis: disseminated cryptococcal disease presenting as an asymptomatic pulmonary nodule and a skin lesion: a case report. Cases Journal. 2008 Dec; 1(1):430.
37. Sikkel MB, Quint JK, Mallia P, Wedzicha JA, Johnston SL. Respiratory syncytial virus persistence in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Pediatr Infectious Disease Journal. 2008 Oct;27(10 Suppl):S63-70.
38. Sikkel MB, Batrick N. Asystole and Apnoea as a Presentation of Diffuse Glioma. Resuscitation. 2007; 73(2):304-6.
39. How P, Sikkel MB, Shalhoub J, Law NW. Brachial Artery Mycotic Aneurysm Secondary to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Epidermidis and Infective Endocarditis. Annals of Vascular Surgery 2006; 20(5):684-620