Biography
Dr Hiran Prag studied Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham and completed his Pharmacy registration training at Merck Sharp and Dohme and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Afterwards, he completed his PhD at the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit under the supervision of Professor Mike Murphy, focussed on development of novel inhibitors of the mitochondrial enzyme succinate dehydrogenase. After his PhD, Hiran continued working on the role of mitochondria in the damage from heart attacks and is currently working with Professor Thomas Krieg in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge.
Research Interests
Dr Hiran Prag is interested in the role of mitochondrial metabolism in cardiovascular pathologies (heart attacks and heart failure) and the development of targeted treatments to prevent damage and disease progression. His current research focusses on the mechanisms by which the mitochondrial metabolite succinate drives ischaemia/reperfusion injury in heart attacks and the subsequent development of chronic heart failure. By investigating the mitochondrial cause of disease, Hiran is interested in the development of drugs to target succinate metabolism as a way of preventing the development of chronic heart failure after a heart attack.
Selected Publications
Prag HA, Aksentijevic D, Dannhorn A, Giles AV, Mulvey JF, Sauchanka O, Du L, Bates G, Reinhold J, Kula-Alwar D, Xu Z, Pellerin L, Goodwin RJA, Murphy MP, Krieg T (2022)
Ischemia-selective cardioprotection by malonate for ischemia/reperfusion injury.
Circulation Research 131 (6), 528-541
Prag HA, Pala L, Kula-Alwar D, Mulvey JF, Luping D, Beach TE, Booty LM, Hall AR, Logan A, Sauchanka V, Caldwell ST, Robb EL, James AM, Xu Z, Saeb-Parsy K, Hartley RC, Murphy MP, Krieg T (2022)
Ester prodrugs of malonate with enhanced intracellular delivery protect against cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury in vivo.
Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy 36, 1–13
Prag HA, Gruszczyk AV, Huang MM, Beach TE, Young T, Tronci L, Nikitopoulou E, Mulvey JF, Ascione R, Hadjihambi A, Shattock MJ, Pellerin L, Saeb-Parsy K, Frezza C, James AM, Krieg T, Murphy MP, Aksentijević D (2021)
Mechanism of succinate efflux upon reperfusion of the ischemic heart.
Cardiovascular Research 117 (4), 1188-1201