Dr Eylem Levelt

Dr Eylem Levelt

Position: Clinical Research Fellow

Areas of expertise: Cardiac metabolism, Cardiovascular, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Diabetic Cardiomyopathy, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
After completing my Cardiology training, I have joined Professor Sven Plein's group at the University of Leeds in March 2018. My vision as an academic cardiologist is to improve the early detection, staging and treatment of diabetic heart disease. During my DPhil studies at the University of Oxford (2012 to 2015), I received training in research MR techniques and produced a portfolio of research involving CMR, Proton and 31Phosphorus-MR Spectroscopy, and in cardiac metabolism.

In my own research trajectory so far, I drew attention to features of early metabolic remodelling of the heart in diabetes, testing the hypothesis that metabolic remodelling in diabetes precedes, causes, and sustains the functional and structural remodelling of the heart. For my previous work, I won prizes for my research from the British Cardiovascular Society, the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, and the University of Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism.

After completion of my DPhil studies, I took up the role of NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Leicester in 2016, where I instigated further studies evaluating in vivo the effect of type 2 diabetes on myocardial energy metabolism and metabolic flexibility. I have been awarded research funding from the Wellcome Trust, British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, Health Education England, and the Medical Research Council. I am an elected Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and currently co-supervise two PhD students.

Research interests
My current research activity revolves around establishing the metabolic basis of heart disease in type 2 diabetes. Specifically, I am exploring the role of metabolic inflexibility toward heart failure development and progression in type 2 diabetes (Funded by Wellcome Trust Seed Award in Science and British Heart Foundation Clinical Research Training Fellowship no. FS/18/26/33501), the lean diabetes phenotype (Funded by Diabetes UK PhD studentship, grant reference number: 18/0005908), and the impact of diabetes on common cardiac comorbidities (Funded by Diabetes UK Project Grant, grant reference number: 18/0005870).

Qualifications
DPhil (University of Oxford)

Professional memberships
MRCP (London)
Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Student education
I am an elected Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and currently supervise Dr Lavanya Athithan (British Heart Foundation Clinical Research Training Fellowship no. FS/18/26/33501, "Cardiac rest and stress metabolism in patients with Type 2 Diabetes", 2018 - 2020) and Dr Lauren Coles (Academic Clinical Fellow, University of Leeds, 2019 to 2021). I give lectures nationally and internationally on topics related to cardiovascular imaging and diabetic heart disease.

Research groups and institutes
Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine

Contact Details

  • E-mail:
  • Address
    6 Clarendon Way
  • City
    Leeds
  • State or Province
    West Yorkshire
  • Zip Code
    LS2 9NL
  • Country
    United Kingdom