Research
Professor Mary Sheppard is a cardiac pathologist with a National and International reputation. She undertakes examination of the heart in cases of sudden unexpected death. She has established a national cardiac pathology database, with funding from UK charity Cardiac Risk in the young (CRY), which now has over 6500 cases on file and is a rich source of research on sudden cardiac death in the UK.
Her main area of interest are the cardiac conditions causing sudden death in young people which are mainly inherited, such as sudden arrhythmic death, cardiomyopathies including dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy and idiopathic hypertrophy She also has an interest in cardiac development, anatomy and congenital heart disease. She has built up a large biobank of heart tissue and genetic material for research
She uses scanning techniques to quantify changes which are diagnostic of specific cardiac diseases which improve diagnostic accuracy. She uses quantification and immunocytochemistry with a rapid scanner for image analysis
Professor Sheppard's main focus is on the pathological diagnosis of sudden cardiac death. She collaborates with cardiologists who screen the families for these cardiac conditions throughout the UK. She works with scientists, immunologists and anatomists in understanding the pathophysiology underlying these conditions. She collaborates with cardiac genetics to examine phenotype/genotype expression.
She also has an interest in:
- Cardiomyopathies
- Cardiac inflammation.
- Myocyte abnormalities
- Fibrosis in the heart.
- Abnormal structure of the heart during development.
- Cardiac Anatomy
- Aortic disease including aortic aneurysms and inflammation of the aorta.
- Cardiac valve disease.
- Congenital Heart disease.
- Coronary artery disease.
- Vascular Disease
- Ischaemic Heart disease
Research Group
Dr Joseph Westaby
Khari Edwards
Susanna Cooper
Belmira Fernandes
Biography
Professor Sheppard is a specialist cardiac pathologist and has established a national cardiac referral centre with funding from the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) to investigate sudden cardiac deaths in the UK. She has built up a large biobank of heart and genetic material for research purposes. She collects genetic material from each case so that a genotype/phenotype correlation can be established in collaboration with clinical geneticists and cardiologists
She collaborates closely with St George's Cardiologists including Professor Sanjay Sharma, Professor Elijah Behr, Dr Maite Tome, Dr Jan Till and Dr Michael Papadakis. She is on the board of UK association of Inherited Cardiac conditions. She is member of consultation group, a UK strategy for aortic dissection in association with Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery
She qualified in medicine from University College Cork Ireland and did her postgraduate training in pathology in London. She is consultant cardiac pathologist and is a national trainer for cardiac pathology in the UK. She also trains pathologists from Europe. She is cardiac pathology representative for Cyprus Cardiomyopathy Association.
Professor Sheppard does extensive research and teaching and has built up an international reputation in the field. She was awarded the Stokes Medal for her work by the Irish Cardiovascular society in 2009 and gave the Phillip Poole Wilson memorial lecture in London in 2014. She was awarded honorary fellowship of Royal college of Physicians in Ireland in 2018. She was medical alumnus of year for university college of Cork Ireland. 2015.
She is visiting professor to the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia and New Zealand to the Turkish Pathological Society and to the International Academy of Pathology. She is visiting professor to the Forensic Academy of Australia and New Zealand as well as to the Brocher Foundation for Human Genetics on cardiac disease in Geneva. She is honorary professor to Cameron Forensic Medical Sciences at St Mary's University of London.
Professor Sheppard is member of the council and was President of the European Association of Cardiovascular Pathology 2016 – 2018. She is on cardiac working groups in European Society of Pathology and European Society of Cardiology as well as American Society of Cardiovascular Pathology.
Professor Sheppard has published 350 peer reviewed papers, 30 book chapters and 9 international guidelines. She is at present working on the third edition of her book on cardiovascular pathology. She co-wrote guidelines on the investigation of sudden cardiac death issued by the Royal College of Pathologists in 2015. She is on several International committees applying guidelines in training in Cardiovascular Pathology, investigation of sudden cardiac death, ischemic heart disease and congenital heart disease
Publications
van Kesteren F, Wiegerinck EMA, Rizzo S, et al. Autopsy after transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Virchows Archiv 2017; 470(3): 331-9.
Sorkin T, Sheppard MN. Sudden unexplained death in alcohol misuse (SUDAM) patients have different characteristics to those who died from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS). Forensic Sci Med Pathol 2017.
Miskolczi S, Sheppard MN, Bogats G, Gobolos L. Double-locus lymphoplasmacytic aortitis. Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann 2017; 1: 1-3.
Krexi D, Sheppard MN. Cardiovascular causes of maternal sudden death. Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome is leading cause in UK. Eur J Obstet Gyn R B 2017; 212: 155-9.
Kirk P, Sheppard M, Carpenter JP, et al. Post-mortem study of the association between cardiac iron and fibrosis in transfusion dependent anaemia. Journal of cardiovascular magnetic resonance : official journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2017; 19(1): 36.
Jensen B, Spicer DE, Sheppard MN, Anderson RH. Development of the atrial septum in relation to postnatal anatomy and interatrial communications. Heart 2017; 103(6): 456-62.
Gilbert J, Sheppard MN, Byard RW. Sudden Infant and Early Childhood Death and Sinus of Valsalva Pseudoaneurysms. J Forensic Sci 2017; 62(2): 531-5.
Finocchiaro G, Papadakis M, Behr ER, Sharma S, Sheppard M. Sudden Cardiac Death in Pre-Excitation and Wolff-Parkinson-White: Demographic and Clinical Features. J Am Coll Cardiol 2017; 69(12): 1644-5.
Basso C, Aguilera B, Banner J, et al. Guidelines for autopsy investigation of sudden cardiac death: 2017 update from the Association for European Cardiovascular Pathology. Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology 2017.
Solberg EE, Borjesson M, Sharma S, et al. Sudden cardiac arrest in sports - need for uniform registration: A Position Paper from the Sport Cardiology Section of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation. European journal of preventive cardiology 2016; 23(6): 657-67.
Perez-Pomares JM, de la Pompa JL, Franco D, et al. Congenital coronary artery anomalies: a bridge from embryology to anatomy and pathophysiology-a position statement of the development, anatomy, and pathology ESC Working Group. Cardiovascular Research 2016; 109(2): 204-16.
Page M, Grasso AE, Carpenter JP, Sheppard MN, Karwatowski SP, Mohiaddin RH. Primary Cardiac Lymphoma: Diagnosis and the Impact of Chemotherapy on Cardiac Structure and Function. Canadian Journal of Cardiology 2016; 32(7).
Nademanee K, Raju H, De Noronha S, et al. Reply: Search for Evidence-Based Medicine for Brugada Syndrome: The Complex Network of the Brugada Syndrome. J Am Coll Cardiol 2016; 67(13): 1658-9.
Lyon AR, Bossone E, Schneider B, et al. Current state of knowledge on Takotsubo syndrome: a Position Statement from the Taskforce on Takotsubo Syndrome of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. Eur J Heart Fail 2016; 18(1): 8-27.
Krexi L, Georgiou R, Krexi D, Sheppard MN. Sudden cardiac death with stress and restraint: The association with sudden adult death syndrome, cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease. Medicine, science, and the law 2016; 56(2): 85-90.
Halushka MK, Angelini A, Bartoloni G, et al. Consensus statement on surgical pathology of the aorta from the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology and the Association For European Cardiovascular Pathology: II. Noninflammatory degenerative diseases - nomenclature and diagnostic criteria. Cardiovascular pathology : the official journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology 2016; 25(3): 247-57.
Green AC, Sheppard MN. Sudden cardiac death associated with premature atheroma in the young: an autopsy study emphasising single-vessel lesions. Cardiol Young 2016; 26(4): 743-8.
Finocchiaro G, Papadakis M, Robertus JL, et al. Reply: How Often Does Athlete Sudden Cardiac Death Occur Outside the Context of Exertion? J Am Coll Cardiol 2016; 68(19): 2126.
Finocchiaro G, Papadakis M, Robertus JL, et al. Etiology of Sudden Death in Sports: Insights From a United Kingdom Regional Registry. J Am Coll Cardiol 2016; 67(18): 2108-15.
Collaborations
Professor Sheppard collaborates with the following researchers:
Professor Elijah Behr, Cardiologist Sudden cardiac death, channelopathies, SGUL
Professor Sanjay Sharma , - Cardiologist, sports related deaths SGUL
Dr Michael Papadakis, Cardiologist, sudden cardiac death, SGUL
Dr Madgi Saba – Cardiologist. arrhythmias SGUL
Dr Maite Tome – Cardiologist, Aortopathies, Cardiomyopathies, SGUL
Professor Nidhi Sofat Rheumatologist inflammation in synovium and heart, SGUL
Professor Bob Anderson – Anatomist, SGUL
Dr Angeliki Asamiki – Scientist, SGUL
Dr David Adlam – Cardiologist, Leicester
Dr Matthew Brown, Dr James Burton – Renal Physicians – Leicester.
Dr Kathryn Griffin, pathologist, Leeds Cardiovascular Research Institute
Professor Nicholas Lemos, Toxicologist, Director, Cameron Forensic Medical Sciences, Centre for Clinical Pharmacology,St Mary's University,London
Funding
Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) has funded research by Professor Sheppard.
Teaching
Professor Sheppard runs an annual Cardiac Pathology Course at St George’s.
