The mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and heart failure are being investigated using animal models. The effects of new drugs on cardiovascular tissues are being studied in order to determine their potential in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. A rational approach to the clinical phases of drug development is based on the application of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles. The use of mathematical models to describe and explain human responses to new drugs is being explored using mixed effect non-linear regression and clinical trial simulation. Current work is exploring methods for the optimal design of clinical trials.
Clinical pharmacology expresses the combined knowledge of disease and how drugs affect it.
Attention is turning towards understanding how drugs affect the long-term progression of disease. Dr Holford is engaged in studies of Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease which describe both the effects of drugs and the natural progression of the disease over time. Airway remodelling is being studied with a particular interest in factors influencing the growth of cultured airway smooth muscle cells. Research Dr Milne Pharmacoeconomics is the application of microeconomic methods and epidemiology to healthcare delivery, especially drug therapy. Dr Milne has developed economic models for cardiovascular therapies, contraception, treatment of menorrhagia, treatment of leg ulcers, rectal surgery and metastatic breast cancer.