Research
Pioneering Cerebrovascular Research
Professor Majid leads a translational research programme that runs from laboratory models of stroke through to large multicentre clinical trials.
Electroceuticals & Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Using targeted electrical stimulation of the nervous system to drive recovery after stroke — from invasive vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) paired with rehabilitation to transcutaneous auricular VNS delivered via the ear. Professor Majid edited Electroceuticals: Advances in Electrostimulation Therapies (Springer, 2017), co-authored the landmark VNS-REHAB trial in The Lancet (2021), and now leads TRICEPS, the UK’s major trial of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation after stroke. Of TRICEPS he says: “we hope to provide definitive answers as to whether this is an effective approach in improving recovery after stroke that can be rolled out at scale to large numbers of patients on the NHS.” The programme is now extending to VNS in Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment.
Stroke Clinical Trials
Chief Investigator of the £2 million TRICEPS trial and Co-Chief Investigator of the RICFAST pilot, alongside participation in international stroke trial collaborations.
Neuroprotection & Neuroregeneration
Developing strategies to protect brain tissue in the acute phase of stroke and to promote repair afterwards — including an MRC-funded project (grant MR/R005923/1) repurposing the AstraZeneca compound AZD1236, an MMP-9/MMP-12 inhibitor, for acute ischaemic stroke, with co-investigators Philip Bath, Catherine Lawrence, Leslie Cousens, Alastair Buchan, Aneurin Kennerley, Jessica Redgrave and Paul Ince. The programme also explores inherited and environmental stroke resilience, including intergenerational conditioning.
Novel Drug Delivery
Investigating nanotechnology and exosome-based approaches to deliver therapies across the blood–brain barrier.
Remote Conditioning
Harnessing the body’s own protective reflexes — brief, controlled episodes of limb ischaemia — to limit injury and aid recovery after stroke.
Gene Therapy
Gene editing, gene blocking and gene replacement for inherited cerebral small-vessel diseases — including vascular dementia, COL4A1/COL4A2 angiopathy and CADASIL — where no disease-modifying treatments exist.
Stroke Models & Neuroinflammation
Animal and cellular models of stroke and neuroinflammation, underpinning the translation of laboratory discoveries toward the clinic.
Stroke Vaccine Development
An emerging programme developing immunomodulatory approaches to mitigate secondary neuroinflammation after stroke.
Research Funding
Research funded by the NIH, American Heart Association, MRC, NIHR and industry.