Prof. Neil Poulter
Professor of Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Professor Neil Poulter qualified at St Mary’s Hospital, London, in 1974, following which he trained in General Medicine. He then spent 5 years in Kenya co-ordinating a collaborative hypertension research programme at the Welcome Trust Research Laboratories in Nairobi.
In 1985 he gained an MSc in Epidemiology with distinction at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Following this he was Co-PI of the WHO Oral Contraceptive case-control Study at University College London Medical School.
In 1997 he was appointed Professor of Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine at Imperial College London, where he is currently co-Director of the International Centre for Circulatory Health and Founding Director of the Imperial Clinical Trials Unit. He is an Honorary Consultant Physician and Epidemiologist at the Peart-Rose (CVD Prevention) Clinic based at Hammersmith Hospital, London, where he is actively involved in the treatment of patients with hypertension and related problems.
He was President of the British Hypertension Society from 2003-2005 and was the President of the International Society of Hypertension from 2016-2018. In 2008, he was elected as one of the Inaugural Senior Investigators of the NIHR and also elected as a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2009.
He has contributed chapters to several major textbooks and published over 700 papers in peer-reviewed medical journals, including co-authoring several sets of national and international guidelines. Professor Poulter was identified as being among the top 1% most cited academics in clinical medicine in 2014 (Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher report) and among the top 0.1% most cited researcher between 2008-2021 (Web of Science Group Highly Cited Researcher).
He has played a senior management role in several international trials including the ASCOT, ADVANCE, EXSCEL, DEVOTE LEADER and CREOLE trials; other research activities include the optimal investigation and management of essential hypertension and dyslipidaemia; the association between birth weight and various cardiovascular risk factors; the cardiovascular effects of exogenous oestrogen and progesterone; the prevention and aetiology of type 2 diabetes and abdominal aortic aneurism; and ethnic differences in cardiovascular disease. He is the Chief Investigator of the May Measurement Month, an annual global blood pressure screening campaign initiated by the International Society of Hypertension.
Professor Poulter visited Sri Lanka on the 14th of May 2025 and attended two important events to commemorate World Hypertension day.
In addition, the Department of Pharmacology and the Clinical Trials Unit of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya is conducting Collaborative research with the Imperial Clinical Trials Unit of Imperial College London UK. This collaboration aims to enhance research skills and output of the researchers of the University of Kelaniya. The projects had already lead to several highly ranked scientific publications
Venue: ClinMARC Auditorium, NHSL - Colombo
Organised in collaboration with the Sri Lanka College of Internal Medicine (SLCIM) and the Ministry of Health (Hybrid Conference)
Brief Description:
- As part of the global initiative to raise awareness and enhance clinical understanding of hypertension, a half-day hybrid conference was organised to mark World Hypertension Day with Professor Chamila Mettananda discussing the current National guideline on blood pressure management and Professor Neil Poulter discussing a special important area in Blood pressure management. This was webcasted thought country and there were 95 physical participants and 518 virtual participants. Prof. Poulter is a world-recognised authority in cardiovascular medicine. His teaching and insights added immense value to the discussions, particularly in aligning local guidelines with international best practices.
