Contact information
DPhil title
Genetic and molecular mechanisms of kidney stone disease
SUPERVISORS
Dr Sarah Howles, Professor Dominic Furniss and Associate Professor Michael Holmes
Research groups
Websites
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Urology
NDS research theme
Colleges
Catherine Lovegrove
BSc (Hons.), MBBS, MRCS
MRC Clinical Research Training Fellow and DPhil candidate
After beginning my medical studies at The University of Edinburgh I graduated from King’s College London with distinction in my MBBS degree in 2017 and completed the Academic Foundation Programme under the Supervision of Professor Hashim Ahmed at Imperial College London. After undertaking an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in Urology in Oxford from August 2019 to 2022, I secured an MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship to support my DPhil project on the genetic and molecular mechanisms of kidney stone disease and find out how adiposity causes stones.
Kidney stone disease is a major clinical and economic health burden, affecting ~20% of men and ~10% of women by 70 years of age. Up to 50% of kidney stone patients will experience a second stone episode within 10 years of their first presentation. Multiple genetic and environmental factors contribute to kidney stone disease however our understanding of these pathological mechanisms is relatively primitive. Observational studies indicate that both general and central adiposity are risk factors for developing kidney stones. Using Mendelian randomisation and data from the UK Biobank, I have demonstrated that increased central adiposity causes kidney stones and that this, in part, is mediated through increasing serum calcium concentrations.
My research aims are to improve our understanding of why people form kidney stones, why central adiposity causes kidney stone disease, and to use these findings to investigate novel therapeutic strategies for patients with kidney stones.
Outside of work I can usually be found on a bike or on a hill, enjoying the countryside.
Key publications
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IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF URETERIC STONES IN THE UK: THE COVID STONES STUDY
Conference paper
Byrne M. et al, (2022), JOURNAL OF UROLOGY, 207, E448 - E448
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Reply by Authors.
Journal article
Brain E. et al, (2021), J Urol, 206, 537 - 538
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Local anaesthetic transperineal (LATP) prostate biopsy using a probe-mounted transperineal access system: a multicentre prospective outcome analysis.
Journal article
Lopez JF. et al, (2021), BJU Int, 128, 311 - 318
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Association of Increased Body Mass Index and Waist to Hip Ratio with Kidney Stone Disease: a Prospective Analysis of 493,410 UK Biobank participants
Conference paper
Lovegrove C. et al, (2021), BRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY, 108
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The New Lithotripsy Index predicts success of shock wave lithotripsy.
Journal article
Keskin SK. et al, (2022), World J Urol, 40, 3049 - 3053
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Impact of COVID-19 on the management of ureteric stones in the UK: The COVID Stones study
Conference paper
Byrne MHV. et al, (2022), EUROPEAN UROLOGY, 81, S388 - S388
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O108 Central adiposity influences serum calcium concentrations and increases risk of kidney stone disease
Conference paper
Lovegrove CE. et al, (2022), BRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY, 109
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Evidence for the genetic influence of waist-hip ratio on risk of kidney stone disease
Conference paper
Lovegrove C. et al, (2021), EUROPEAN UROLOGY, 79, S343 - S344
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Relative Benefits of Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (ESWL) Compared to Observation in Acute Renal Colic
Conference paper
Lovegrove C. et al, (2021), BRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY, 108
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DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE NON-TECHNICAL SKILLS FOR UROLOGICAL SURGEONS (NOTSUS) TRAINING CURRICULUM
Conference paper
Aydin A. et al, (2018), BRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY, 105, 31 - 31
Recent publications
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Genetic variants predisposing to increased risk of kidney stone disease
Journal article
LOVEGROVE C. et al, (2025), Journal of Clinical Investigation
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Matched pair analysis of wide versus narrow focus during shockwave lithotripsy for urolithiasis.
Journal article
Sharp AJ. et al, (2024), Urolithiasis, 53
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Role of Genetic Testing in Kidney Stone Disease: A Narrative Review.
Journal article
Geraghty R. et al, (2024), Curr Urol Rep, 25, 311 - 323
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Causal inference in health and disease: a review of the principles and applications of Mendelian randomization.
Journal article
Lovegrove CE. et al, (2024), J Bone Miner Res
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Editorial Comment.
Journal article
Lovegrove CE. and Howles SA., (2024), J Urol
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Central Adiposity Increases Risk of Kidney Stone Disease through Effects on Serum Calcium Concentrations.
Journal article
Lovegrove CE. et al, (2023), J Am Soc Nephrol, 34, 1991 - 2011
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Impact of COVID-19 on the management and outcomes of ureteric stones in the UK: a multicentre retrospective study.
Journal article
Byrne MHV. et al, (2023), BJU Int, 131, 82 - 89
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The New Lithotripsy Index predicts success of shock wave lithotripsy.
Journal article
Keskin SK. et al, (2022), World J Urol, 40, 3049 - 3053
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Central adiposity raises serum calcium concentrations and increases risk of kidney stone disease
Journal article
Lovegrove C. et al, (2022), Endocrine Abstracts
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Associations of adiposity, kidney stone disease, and serum calcium concentrations; observational and genetic epidemiological studies
Preprint
Lovegrove CE. et al, (2022)
Publications
Byrne MHV., Georgiades F., Light A., Lovegrove CE., Dominic C., Rahman J., Kathiravelupillai S., Klatte T., Saeb-Parsy K., Kumar R., Howles S., Stewart GD., Turney B., Wiseman O., COVID Stones Collaborative, (2022), BJUI
Lovegrove CE et al, (2021), BJUI
Natural History of Post-Treatment Kidney Stone Fragments: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Brain E, Geraghty RM, Lovegrove CE, Yang B, Somani BK, (2021), J Urol
Lovegrove CE. et al, (2020), BJUI
Georgiades F, Byrne MHV, Lovegrove CE, Klatte T, Saeb-Parsy K, et al. (2020), JELEU