| Professor Stan Heptinstall | |
|---|---|
| Professor of Thrombosis and Haemostasis | |
| Former Head of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Nottingham | |
| Nottinghamshire County Councillor | |
| Broxtowe Borough Councillor | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 August 1946 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Reverend Lillian Heptinstall |
| Children | Victoria, Robert, Amanda and William James |
| Residence | Bramcote Hills |
| Occupation | Academic and Politics |
| Religion | Church of England |
Professor Stanley Heptinstall MBE, BSc, PhD, Professor of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (born 21 August 1946) was until recently the Head of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine in the School of Clinical Sciences at the University of Nottingham.[1] He is also a local councillor representing the Bramcote and Stapleford Division on Nottinghamshire County Council and Bramcote Ward on Broxtowe Borough Council.[2][3]
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Stan Heptinstall was born on 21 August 1946 in Bolton, Lancashire to Stanley and Florence Heptinstall. He spent his early years at St Annes on Sea on the Fylde Coast.
His primary education was mainly in St Annes on Sea and his secondary education was at Ansdell Secondary Modern School (11–13 years) followed by King Edward VII School, Lytham St Annes (13–17 years). Stan Heptinstall pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne between 1964 and 1967 and graduated with a first class degree in Chemistry. He then successfully obtained a Science Research Council studentship to study for a PhD in the Microbiological Chemistry Research Laboratory at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne working with Professor Ron Archibald, who was his supervisor, and Sir Jim Baddiley, who was the head of the laboratory and of the Department of Chemistry. Following this period of research, Stan Heptinstall obtained an Imperial Chemical Industries Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to continue his studies on the structure and function of teichoic acids in bacterial cell walls. It was during this time that he published his first scientific papers.[4]
In 1971 Stan Heptinstall sought a change in his academic direction and secured for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship to study blood platelets in the newly established Faculty of Medicine in the University of Nottingham. He focused his research on the role of platelets in thrombosis and haemostasis under the mentorship of Professor Tony Mitchell, DPhil, FRCP, who was the foundation Professor of Medicine at the University of Nottingham. Over subsequent years, he was awarded a non-clinical lecturership and then progressed to senior lecturer and reader.[4]
In 1985 he was awarded a personal chair with the title Chair of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. For many years Professor Heptinstall was the main coordinator of the Clinical Sciences Homebase which contributes to the delivery of teaching for medical students studying for the Bachelor of Medical Sciences at the University of Nottingham. Following the retirement of Professor Bob Wilcox, FRCP in 2009, Professor Heptinstall was appointed Head of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine in the School of Clinical Sciences at the University of Nottingham Medical School. He was instrumental in mentoring undergraduate and postgraduate students, postdoctoral scientists, and clinicians from the affiliated Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust who undertake periods of research at the department.[1][4]
Stan Heptinstall is an active member of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis and is a past secretary and president the British Society for Heamostasis and Thrombosis.[4] He is the editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Platelets[5] and is in the advisory board of several scientific journals including the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.[6]
For many years Professor Heptinstall was head of the Thrombosis and Haemostasis Research Group based in the Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, where he was long engaged in extensive basic and clinical research aimed at understanding the function of platelets and other blood cells in physiological and pathological disease processes.[1] The group has collaborated vastly with the pharmaceutical industry over the years to identify and assess emerging pharmacological agents as well as in conducting clinical trials and studying existing drugs on their actions as antithrombotic agents in patients. A major part of Professor Heptinstall’s research focuses on finding ways through which platelet function can be modified to avoid thrombotic events like myocardial infarction and stroke. Over his career, Professor Heptinstall has published nearly 200 scientific papers[7] in leading journals in the fields of platelet research, thrombosis and haemostasis.
Under Professor Heptinstall’s direction, the Thombosis and Haemostasis Group have identified a variety of test systems for evaluating the function of platelets and other blood cells before and during drug administration.[1] More recently, this has led to the development of a simple-to-use platelet function testing method for use in any clinical setting, as a means of monitoring the success of drug therapy in patients. Professor Heptinstall is the director of a newly formed University of Nottingham spin out company named Platelet Solutions Ltd. Platelet function testing in the clinical setting has the potential to enable personalised treatment of cardiac and stroke patients to ensure optimal therapy. With Professor Heptinstall's leadership, Platelet Solutions Ltd have won several national and international awards since the inception of the project.[8][9][10]
Stan Heptinstall represents Bramcote Ward on Broxtowe Borough Council. He was first elected in 1991 and has served as a councillor continually since then. He is currently the cabinet member with the portfolio for Environment and is also the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the Council.[3] As well as being a borough councillor, Professor Heptinstall is a county councillor and represents the Bramcote and Stapleford Division on Nottinghamshire County Council. He is also a member of Stapleford Town Council. He was first elected to Nottinghamshire County Council in 1997.[2]
Stan Heptinstall is heavily involved in local community activities. He chairs the group that organizes a major community event known as the Hemlocks Happening, which annually attracts some 10,000 people.[4] He also serves as the chair of the Bramcote Community Action Team and is a trustee for Bramcote Charities. He is a Local Education Authority governor at the White Hills Park Federation of Secondary Schools in Bramcote and is a member of the Parochial Church Council and choir at St Michael's Church. Professor Heptinstal is also a co-editor of the publication 'Focus on Bramcote', which is delivered regularly to residents of the Bramcote area.[3] In 1997, Professor Heptinstall was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his extensive community activities. The citation was: “for services to the people of Bramcote in the county of Nottinghamshire”.[4]
Professor Heptinstall has lived in an area of Bramcote known as Bramcote Hills since 1975. His wife, the Reverend Lillian Heptinstall is an ordained priest in the Church of England and is minister-in-charge at St. Barnabas Church, Inham Nook, Chilwell.[3] They have four children (Victoria, Robert, Amanda and William James) and seven grandchildren.