About TRI

Mission

At the Thrombosis Research Institute, we are committed to saving millions of lives, preventing long term disability and reducing healthcare costs by delivering pioneering advances in the detection, prevention and treatment of thrombosis.

The institute’s research activities encompass drug discovery basic science and clinical research, and epidemiology studies. We are primarily concerned with understanding the disease process, developing novel and affordable therapies and identifying those most at risk at an early age.

We are also closely involved with promoting take up of evidence based methods of prevention and treatment to ensure that knowledge from ground-breaking research quickly informs clinical practice and benefits patients as soon as possible.

To this end, The Thrombosis Research Institute is committed to:

Educating health professionals
Raising awareness among the public and patients
Influencing policy makers especially with regard to ensuring hospitals have appropriate systems in place to identify as early as possible an individual’s risk of thrombosis

Achievements

MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO THROMBOSIS RESEARCH

Our multidisciplinary programme of laboratory and clinical research has contributed to major advances in venous thromboembolism that have changed clinical practice.

Thrombosis research related to the early detection, prevention and treatment of post-operative venous thromboembolism was started in 1965 with a staff group of two. Work conducted by the Institute’s Founder, Professor Vijay Kakkar describing the natural history of deep vein thrombosis in surgical patients was among the first to identify the magnitude of this now widely recognised problem (1969). By describing the cause and effect of venous thromboembolism, he demonstrated for the first time the extent of the problem and the impact for surgical patients of pulmonary embolism.

Having defined the problems of venous thromboembolism, Professor Vijay Kakkar then pioneered new methods for its detection, prevention and treatment. In the early 1970s, he established that deep vein thrombosis / pulmonary embolism could be prevented in surgical patients by using a fixed low dose of heparin, an anticoagulant.

In 1975, a major mortality outcome study ‘The International Multicentre Trial’ (Kakkar W, et al. 1975 Prevention of fatal postoperative pulmonary embolism by low doses of heparin. Lancet, 306: 45-64) coordinated by the Thrombosis Research Institute validated Professor Kakkar’s original research into the prevention of peri- and post-operative death from pulmonary embolism. This trial, considered the seminal work in the field, found that heparin prophylaxis reduces death from pulmonary embolism, saving seven lives for every 1,000 operated patients.

In 1982, the first clinical evaluation of low molecular weight heparin in the prevention of deep vein thrombosis was published by staff at the Institute. Since then, a continuous programme of basic and clinical research has further evaluated these agents for the prevention of both arterial and venous thromboembolism, helping to establish low molecular weight heparins as the gold standard for antithrombotic therapy over several decades.

These methods are now used throughout the world and have resulted in the near eradication of deaths due to thrombosis in high risk patients undergoing major surgery, saving approximately 300,000 lives per year worldwide.

Governance

The Thrombosis Research Institute is among only a handful of organisations in the world undertaking a multidisciplinary approach to thrombosis research by bringing together clinicians and scientists involved in basic research.

The Institute employs approximately 50 staff, and is:

A research enterprise
A company limited by guarantee
A charity, administered and governed by a Board of Trustees who are also the Charity Trustees. They are responsible for the overall management and control of the Institute including formulating the research policies.

The President of the Thrombosis Research Institute is Professor the Lord Kakkar, who was principally responsible for the implementation of policies agreed by the Board of Trustees. The Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer is Ms Gloria Kayani.

The Founder and first President of the Thrombosis Research Institute, London and Founder, Scientific Chairman and Managing Trustee of the Thrombosis Research Institute, Bangalore was Professor Vijay Kakkar OBE.

Board of Trustees

London (UK)

Mr Patrick Burgess OBE DL (Chairman)
The Rt. Hon. Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury GBS PC
Sir Ralph Waller KBE
Sir Guy Weston

President

Rt Hon Professor the Lord Kakkar KBE PC

Lord Ajay Kakkar is President of the Thrombosis Research Institute and Emeritus Professor of Surgery, University College London. He is Chairman of King’s Health Partners, the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research, the King’s Fund and UK Biobank.

He completed his medical degree at King’s College London and received his PhD from Imperial College London. He has been a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons since 1992.

His research interests include the prevention and treatment of venous and arterial thromboembolic disease and cancer-associated thrombosis. His work has made an important contribution to evaluating the potential role of antithrombotic therapy in the management of cancer patients, and he has been involved in the clinical development of direct oral anticoagulants.

Lord Kakkar was created a Life Peer in 2010 and sits on the cross benches of the House of Lords. He is Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission. He is a Knight of the British Empire and a member of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council.

Deputy Director/COO

Gloria Kayani

Gloria Kayani is the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for implementing and delivering the TRI’s extensive, international clinical and scientific research programmes. She works closely with global experts and key opinion leaders in the thrombosis and cardiovascular medicine fields to ensure TRI delivers high-quality research.

She is also the Chief Executive of CYTE, TRI’s partner contract research organisation, with overall responsibility for creating, planning, implementing and integrating the strategic direction.

Ms Kayani has nearly 25 years of experience in Pharmaceutical R&D, Medical Affairs and academic research, responsible for the strategic oversight and delivery of projects spanning all phases of clinical research. This includes 15 years in various leadership roles in clinical development at Glaxo SmithKline and Roche; managing cross-functional and international clinical teams. She was a member of many clinical development teams for key Roche drugs. As Head of the Clinical Projects Group at Roche, she oversaw the management of 144 global randomised clinical trials, investigator initiated trials, early access programs, non-interventional programs and individual patient supply programmes.

Court of Patrons

The Most Hon The Marquess of Salisbury KCVO PC DL (Chairman)

Mr David McDonough OBE

Mr Björn Saven

Sir Julian Seymour CBE

The Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury CBE

Sir Mark Worthington OBE

Trustees

Patrick Burgess OBE DL (Chairman)

The Rt. Hon. Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury GBS PC

Sir Ralph Waller KBE

Sir Guy Weston

Founder

President

Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer

Innovators in Thrombosis

Innovators in Thrombosis

History

1965

1989

2000 - now

Professor Vijay Kakkar OBE

Mission

To this end, The Thrombosis Research Institute is committed to:

Achievements

MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO THROMBOSIS RESEARCH

Governance

Board of Trustees

London (UK)

President

Rt Hon Professor the Lord Kakkar KBE PC

Deputy Director/COO

Gloria Kayani

Court of Patrons

Trustees

Collaborations