Professor Gillian Whalley

Research

I am interested in the appropriate use of echocardiography to identify factors that may contribute to higher risk in patients and in at-risk populations. A key future focus will be community-based screening using ultrasound to identify individuals at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease in order to introduce preventative methods early.

I have a long-term interest in the relationship between body composition and heart size and the impact of ethnicity upon that. I have recently completed an HRC-funded study evaluating heart size in Aotearoa/New Zealand, with a particular emphasis on determining what reference ranges should be applied in here.

I have experience of small single-centre and large multi-centre clinical trials, cohort studies, and prognostic studies, and have used meta-analytical methods widely. My interest in meta-analysis (both literature and individual patient approaches) extends towards linking echocardiography measurements with improved clinical correlation and prognosis in large population studies.