Rate My Professor Alastair Webb

Webb's research focuses on cerebral small vessel disease, cerebrovascular physiology, stroke medicine, and vascular dementia, which accounts for 30% of ischaemic strokes, 80% of intracerebral haemorrhages, and the most common cause of vascular dementia. He employs diverse methods including big data analyses from UK Biobank, MRI imaging, prospective cohort studies, and interventional clinical trials to elucidate causes, enhance measurement techniques, and develop novel treatments. Key contributions include principal investigator roles in the TREAT@SVDs trial on antihypertensive effects on cerebrovascular reactivity, the OxBP sub-study on autoregulation, and the OxHARP trial, which in 2024 demonstrated that sildenafil improves cerebrovascular function in patients with small vessel disease, potentially reducing risks of stroke and vascular dementia. Prominent publications feature 'Cerebrovascular Effects of Sildenafil in Small Vessel Disease' (Circulation Research, 2024), 'Optimal markers of treatment response to vasodilatory drugs in small vessel disease: An OxHARP trial analysis' (2025), 'Effects of antihypertensive-drug class on interindividual variation in blood pressure and risk of stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis' (2015), and studies on blood pressure variability, arterial stiffness, and cerebral pulsatility as predictors of cerebrovascular injury and cognitive decline. A Fellow of the European Stroke Organisation, Webb has chaired its Education Committee and served as Scientific Chair for BIASP in 2024.