Professor Richard Underwood

Professor Richard Underwood gained a first-class honours degree in chemistry at Merton College, Oxford and went on to study medicine at Oxford and Cambridge. After general medical training in Oxford and London, he specialised in cardiac medicine, learning both non-invasive and invasive techniques. For the last 30 years, he has practised non-invasive cardiac imaging, with major clinical and research interests in nuclear cardiology, magnetic resonance, and in cardiovascular X-ray computed tomography.

Professor Underwood's NHS consultant practice was at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, and its academic wing, the National Heart and Lung Institute. Although he retired from full-time practice in 2023, he has a part-time appointment as locum consultant in cardiac imaging at Castle Hill Hospital, part of Hull University Teaching Hospitals. He is emeritus professor at Imperial College London.

He has championed techniques in radionuclide imaging of the heart and he receives referrals and requests for second opinions worldwide. Myocardial perfusion imaging is his most commonly performed technique because it has the ability not only to detect narrowings of the coronary arteries, but also to assess the risk of future problems such as a heart attack. More recently he developed techniques that include PET imaging of inflammation and infection in the heart.

Professor Underwood has chaired specialty groups such as the British Nuclear Cardiology Society and has played leading roles in the British Cardiac Society, the European Society of Cardiology, the European Society of Nuclear Medicine and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging. He has also advised the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Professor Underwood has led training courses both nationally and internationally and he remains an enthusiastic and sought-after teacher. He has over 300 scientific publications to his name, including more than 40 books and chapters in major reference works. He is on the editorial board of many national and international journals.

His non-clinical interests include motorcycling, aviation, skiing, and gastronomy.