Personal Profile
He thereafter undertook a period of post-graduate research at the University of Glasgow, validating the use of magnetic resonance myocardial perfusion imaging using invasive fractional flow reserve measurements and obtained his research MD in 2010. He trained in medicine and cardiology in the West of Scotland and completed a fellowship in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Canada.
Dr Watkins performs complex PCI procedures and TAVI in addition to general cardiology. He is very actively involved in clinical research and his research interests include coronary physiology and intravascular imaging in the optimal management of coronary artery disease including coronary artery bifurcations. He is also interested in the management of severe coronary artery calcification, stent / balloon design, and methods to reduce patient and physician radiation exposure during procedures. He is also actively involved in TAVI and stent research collaborating with the University of Glasgow.
Dr Watkins is the UK chief investigator of the LEADERS FREE 2 trial and the eULTRA 10K study. He is the local principle investigator for a number of trials including the OCTOBER study, BHF PROTECT TAVI, Selution de Novo, CHIP BCIS 3, EASY AS and DAPA MI. He has over 75 publications in international peer reviewed journals.
Dr Watkins is actively involved in teaching medical students from the University of Glasgow and the training of junior doctors and fellows in cardiology and coronary intervention. He is a regular faculty member and delivers talks at international conferences and is an experienced live case operator.
