Professor Havovi Chichger

In 2011, Havovi earned her doctorate in physiology from University College London, which focused on studying the role of renal and small intestinal glucose transport across the epithelium in metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

As a Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University, Havovi's research developed into vascular dysfunction in settings of disease including respiratory disease. During her Post-Doctorate, she was awarded significant funding from the American Heart Association, published several peer-reviewed articles and participated in numerous clinical and basic research conference presentations (including invited and peer-reviewed oral presentations) on renal glucose transport, endocytosis, vascular function and respiratory disease.

Currently, Havovi is continuing her research on mechanisms which regulate endothelial and epithelial barrier function, with an emphasis on novel regulators of both barriers, such as the taste receptor.

• Physiological roles of bitter and sweet taste receptors
• Renal and small intestinal glucose transport across the epithelium (diabetes, metabolic syndrome)
• Mechanisms regulated by artificial sweeteners and sweet taste receptors (diabetes, pulmonary diseases)
• Endosomal trafficking in the vasculature (pulmonary diseases)
• Protein phosphatase (PTP and SHP2) signalling (pulmonary diseases)
• Protein kinases (PKC and MAPK) signalling (diabetes, pulmonary diseases)
• Novel mechanisms regulating microvascular complications (diabetes, pulmonary diseases)
• Molecular mechanisms which link the gut microbiota and gastric permeability

Selected current students:

Second supervisor for PhD student – Charlie Blick who is studying how to harness protein degradation as a potential therapeutic strategy to reduce vascular calcification (September 2025-present).

Second supervisor for PhD student – Jorge Pinto who is exploring the effects of Herring Roe-derived Omega-3 phospholipids on exercise metabolism, performance and recovery (April 2024-present).

First supervisor for PhD student – Lewis Spurrier-Best who is studying the endothelium in settings of lung injury (September 2023-present).

Second supervisor for PhD student – Mary Bishop-Strutt who is studying the use of saccharide-linked compounds for glioblastoma multiforme treatment via intranasal delivery (September 2023-present).

Second supervisor for PhD student – Joseph Lillis who is studying the impact of a hydroxytyrosol rich phytocomplex on inflammatory mediators and functional mobility in an adult population (September 2023-present).

Second supervisor for PhD student – Ian Styles who is studying impact of climate and environmental change on prevalence of respiratory disease in ancient Nubia (January 2022-present, part-time).

Selected recently completed students:

Second supervisor for PhD student – Maggie Gentry who studied how communication can impact the uptake of the 3Rs in animal research (completed July 2026).

Second supervisor for PhD student – Emily Capes who performed an investigation into the mechanisms of degranulation-dependent zinc release from platelets (completed July 2026).

Second supervisor for PhD student – Ayse Kaya who studied the development of inhalable formulations of disulfiram metabolites for localised treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (completed April 2025).

Third supervisor for PhD student Chisolm Meludu who studied the role of DNA quadruplexes in settings of AMR (completed February 2023).

Second supervisor for PhD student at University College London – Oluwatobi Olusanya who studied the role of transporters in the gut epithelium (completed 2022).

First supervisor for PhD student – Aparna Shil who studied the effect of intestinal sweet taste receptors on the gut microbiota and gastric permeability (completed 2020).

First supervisor for PhD student – Emmanuella Enuwosa who studied the effect of taste receptors on the retinal and glomerular microvasculature (completed 2020).

MSc Applied Bioscience
Module Leader for Research Methods and Preparation

MRes in Life Sciences
Course Director
Module Leader for MRes Research Project

• PGCert in Higher Education and Learning, Anglia Ruskin University
• Teaching excellence certificate, Sheridan Centre, Brown University
• PhD Physiology, University College London
• BSc Biochemistry, King’s College London

Selected examples of current work:

• Member, British Microcirculation and Vascular Biology Society Committee, 2026-present
• Member, the Scientific Conference Committee for Physiological Society, 2024-present
• Member, Editorial Board for The Conversation UK, 2023-present
• Member, European Vascular Biology Organisation, 2019-present
• Editor, Experimental Physiology, 2019-present
• Member, Editorial Board for Lung Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2018-present
• Member, The Physiological Society, 2017-present
• Fellow, the Higher Education Academy, 2016-present
• Early Career Member, American Heart Association, 2012-present
• Member, American Physiological Society, 2012-present
• Member, American Thoracic Society, 2012-present
• Ad-hoc reviewer for over 40 journals including Microvascular Research, Science Translational Medicine, Pulmonary Circulation and Journal of Cellular Physiology

Examples of recent funding:

• Inventor for UK and USA patent – EP2019/056677
• Commercial funding – food supplementation projects (> £250k)
• British Heart Foundation – PhD studentship funding (>£100k)
• Cambridge Philosophical Society – PhD studentship funding (>£100k)
• Wellcome Trust Biomedical scholarships (>£10k)
• Physiological Society Summer scholarships (>£5k)
• Diabetes UK Early Career Research grant (>£15k)
• American Heart Association postdoctoral fellowship (>£100k)

Kertesz, Z., Spurrier-Best, L. and Chichger, H. (2026) 'T1R3 Anchors ACE2 at the Pulmonary Endothelial Cell Surface to Attenuate Vascular Injury Following SARS-CoV-2 Spike 1 Protein Exposure In Vitro', Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 30(16), e71339. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcmm.71339

Cohen, M., Haigis, L., Blum, R. C., Sherman-Roe, A., Pereira, M., Chichger, H., Ventetuolo, C. E., Liang, O. D. and Harrington, E. O. (2026) 'Endothelial-derived extracellular vesicles impair human pulmonary microvascular cell function in an in vitro model of sepsis-induced acute lung injury', American Journal of Physiology – Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplung.00287.2025

Biswas, A., Rahman, M. H., Chichger, H. and Shil, A. (2026) 'A sucralose-based sweetener promotes biofilm formation and plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance transfer in opportunistic gut bacteria', Archives of Microbiology. 208(10), pp. 494. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-026-05054-7

Kaya, A., Arafat, B., Chichger, H., Pierscionek, B. and Najlah, M. (2026) 'Design and Development of Dry Powder Cyclodextrin Complexes of Zinc Diethyldithiocarbamate for Pulmonary Drug Delivery', Pharmaceutics, 18(8), pp. 904. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18080904

Spurrier-Best, L., Butcher, D., Blackham-Hayward, E., Kertesz, Z. and Chichger, H. (2026) 'Nicotine-free electronic vape fluid stimulates angiogenic processes in vitro through ARF6-mediated oxidative stress', Frontiers in Toxicology, 7, 1699112. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/ftox.2025.1699112

Shil, A., Amoakohene, O. and Chichger, H. (2025) 'The non-synthetic sweeteners, miraculin and mogroside V, but not stevia, disrupt the intestinal epithelial barrier function through a sweet taste receptor-dependent mechanism', Scientific Reports, 15, 44861. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-28759-z

Lillis, J. B., Willmott, A. G. B., Chichger, H. and Roberts, J. D. (2025) 'The Application of Olive-Derived Polyphenols on Exercise-Induced Inflammation: A Scoping Review', Nutrients, 17(2), pp. 223. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17020223

Shil, A., Faria L. M. L., Walker, C. A. and Chichger, H. (2024) 'The artificial sweetener neotame negatively regulates the intestinal epithelium directly through T1R3-signaling and indirectly through pathogenic changes to model gut bacteria', Frontiers in Nutrition, 11. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1366409

Blackham-Hayward, E., Kertesz, Z. and Chichger, H. (2024) 'Electronic vape fluid activates the pulmonary endothelium and disrupts vascular integrity in vitro through an ARF6-dependent pathway', Microvascular Research 153, 104653. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mvr.2024.104653

Kaya, A., Arafat, B., Chichger, H., Tolaymat, I., Pierscionek, B., Khoder, M. and Najlah, M. (2023) 'Preparation and Characterisation of Zinc Diethyldithiocarbamate-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes for Potential Lung Cancer Treatment', Pharmaceutics, 16, pp. 65. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16010065

Chapman, S., Roberts, J., Roberts, A. J., Ogden, H., Izard, R., Smith, L., Chichger, H., Struszczak, L. and Rawcliffe, A. J. (2023) 'Pre-sleep protein supplementation does not improve performance, body composition, and recovery in British Army recruits (part 1)', Frontiers in Nutrition, 10, 1262044. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1262044

Shil, A., Zhang, J. and Chichger, H. (2023) 'Investigating the use and awareness of artificial sweeteners among diabetic patients in Bangladesh', PLoS One, 18, e0295272. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295272

Roberts, J. D., Lillis, J. B., Pinto, J. M., Chichger, H., López-Samanes, Á., Coso, J. D., Zacca, R. and Willmott, A. G. B. (2023) 'The Effect of a Hydroxytyrosol-Rich, Olive-Derived Phytocomplex on Aerobic Exercise and Acute Recovery', Nutrients, 15, pp. 421. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15020421

Selected examples of abstracts:

Activation of T1R3 anchors ACE2 at the pulmonary endothelial cell surface to attenuate vascular disruption induced by the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. International Vascular Biology Meeting. 2024.

Targeting Arf6 in the treatment of barrier disruption for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Physiology 2023.

Activation of the orphan GPCR, T1R3, promotes the release of barrier-protective extracellular vesicles – a novel role for endothelial sweet taste sensing. International Vascular Biology Meeting. 2022.

Using our immerging understanding of taste sensing to target vascular disease. Physiology 2021.

The impact of COVID-19 on the pulmonary vasculature – ARDS-associated disruption of the endothelial barrier. COVID-19: Lessons learned from the frontline, online. 2020.

Understanding new ways to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome. NIH Research in Progress conference, online. 2020.

How artificial sweeteners reduce diabetes-associated blood vessel injury in the eye. Harley Street Surgical Centre Continued Education and Training UK. 2020.

Media work in the last three years:

Expert input on Chemical & Engineering News article on the lung effects of eVapes, June 2026.

'A popular sweetener could be damaging your brain’s defences, says recent study', The Conversation, 21 July 2026 – received over one million reads and was re-published in ScienceAlert and Yahoo News

'Are artificial sweeteners okay for our health? Here’s what the current evidence says', The Conversation, 17 April 2025 – re-published in 18 different online media outlets.

Several media outlets, including The Guardian and Forbes, covered research from the Frontiers in Nutrition publication based on the effect of neotame on the intestine and microbiota relationship in the gut, April 2024.

Interview on BBC World Service on the Frontiers in Nutrition publication studying the sweetener neotame, 25 April 2024.

Quoted in USA Today article on sugar substitutes and their potential health impacts, March 2023.

Interview on Cambridge 105 (Suzie Thorpe) on the effect of sweeteners in gut health, 26 February 2023.