Margaux Horn

Biography

Biography

I obtained a first class BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology with Industrial Experience from the University of Edinburgh. As part of my degree I spent time in industry developing drug safety assays. For my PhD in Cardiac Physiology (The University of Manchester) I characterised structural, autonomic and extracellular remodelling in ageing and heart failure using an ovine tachypacing model. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Medicine (University of Manchester) I investigated collagen and elastin remodelling in the development and recovery from heart failure, and in 2013 I was awarded the BSCR Bernard and Joan Marshall Young Investigator prize.

I came to Keele to pursue a full-time teaching role as an Associate Teaching Fellow in Bioscience and later promoted to Teaching Fellow. In 2019 I became a Lecturer (E&S) in Bioscience specialising in cardiovascular science. I am lead for the Year 2 unit “Circulation” (MBChB) and an admissions tutor for the MBChB programme. I am also The Physiological Society Representative for Keele University.

I was awarded Senior Fellow status from Advance HE in 2024.

Research and scholarship

Research and scholarship

During my PhD and postdoc, my research focused on extracellular matrix remodelling in both the ageing and diseased heart.
As a Lecturer at Keele my scholarship activity focuses on the creation of interactive revision resources to support learning of physiology and pharmacology. In 2020 I was awarded The David Jordan Teaching Award (The Physiological Society) for a project involving design and evaluation of physiology-themed digital escape rooms.

Teaching

Teaching

I teach on the MBChB, MSc Physician’s Associate (PA) studies and the MSci Paramedic Science programmes at Keele University. I lecture on the physiology and pharmacology strands of these courses, and I specialise in the cardiovascular system. I am also lead for the Year 2 unit “Circulation”, a tutor for problem-based learning (PBL) and an Academic Mentor.

Publications

Publications

1. Horn MA. Design and evaluation of a new consolidation exercise for students studying cardiac physiology: a digital escape room. Adv Physiol Educ (2023), 47: 82-92.
2. Horn MA. CASE STUDY: Re-designing preclinical neuropharmacology teaching to enhance student engagement and active learning. JADE (2020), 12: 53-67.
3. List P, Horn M, Gould R & Molyneux, A. An Innovation to Enhance Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) for Year 1 Medical Students. AMEE 2020: The Virtual Conference (2020).
4. Ali N, Crawford R & Horn M. Critical thinking in PBL: Development of a bespoke tool for critical thinking. 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION ADVANCES (HEAD'19; 2019; pp. 513-520).
5. Horn MA, Bode EF, Borland SJ, Kirkwood GJ, Briston SJ, Richards MA, Dibb KM & Trafford AW. Temporal development of autonomic dysfunction in heart failure: effects of age in an ovine rapid-pacing model, J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci (2016), 71: 1544-1552.
6. Horn MA* & AW Trafford. Aging and the cardiac extracellular matrix: potential novel mediators of fibrotic remodeling. J Mol Cell Cardiol (2015), 93: 175-185. *Corresponding author.
7. Horn MA*. Cardiac Physiology of Aging: Extracellular Considerations. Compr Physiol (2015), 5: 1069-1121. (Invited review, *corresponding author).
8. Clarke JD, Caldwell JC, Horn MA, Bode EF, Richards MA, Hall MCS, Graham HK, Briston SJ, Greensmith DG, Eisner DA, Dibb KM & Trafford AW. Perturbed atrial calcium handling in an ovine model of heart failure: Potential roles for reductions in the L-type calcium current. J Mol Cell Cardiol. (2015), 79: 169-179.
9. Horn MA, Graham HK, Richards MA, Clarke JD, Greensmith DJ, Briston SJ, Hall MCS, Dibb KM and Trafford AW. Age-related divergent remodeling of the cardiac extracellular matrix in heart failure: Collagen accumulation in the young and loss in the aged, J Mol Cell Cardiol (2012), 53: 82-90.
10. Briston SJ, Caldwell JL, Horn MA, Clarke JD, Richards MA, Greensmith DJ, Graham HK, Hall MCS, Eisner DA, Dibb KM and Trafford AW. Impaired β-adrenergic responsiveness accentuates dysfunctional excitation contraction coupling in an ovine model of tachypacing induced heart failure. J Physiol (2011) 589: 1367-1382.
11. Dibb KM, Clarke JD, Horn MA, Richards MA, Graham HK, Eisner DA and Trafford AW. Characterization of an extensive transverse tubular network in sheep atrial myocytes and its depletion in heart failure. Circ Heart Fail (2009) 2: 482-489.
12. Graham HK, Horn M and Trafford AW. Extracellular matrix profiles in the progression to heart failure. Acta Physiol (2008), 194: 3-21.