
Dr Hana Hassanin
Academic and research departments
Surrey Clinical Research Facility, School of Biosciences and Medicine.About
Biography
Dr Hana Hassanin is the Medical Director of Surrey Clinical Research Facility. She is a clinical consultant for the Dementia Research Institute (DRI) at the Surrey Sleep Research Centre. Hana has a joint appointment with the Royal Surrey Foundation Trust as the Director of the NIHR Royal Surrey CRF.
Hana had her medical training in internal medicine at the University Hospital of Giessen in Germany. She then worked in Heidelberg University Hospital and was awarded her MD from the “German National Centre for Tumour diseases” in oncology and immunotherapy with a special focus on Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. She has also obtained a PGDip in Diabetes from Cardiff University.
Hana has extensive experience in the field of “Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics”. She led as PI/CI over 60 clinical trials- including global multi-national trials- in various therapeutic areas both early and late phase covering osteoporosis, vaccines, cardiovascular, oncology, and immunology.
Hana is passionate about teaching and research and has received the recognition award for broadening the understanding of clinical trials in the international educational event (Aware For All) organised by CISCRP.
News
Publications
Circadian rhythms, metabolism, and nutrition are closely linked.1 Timing of a 3-meal daily feeding pattern synchronises some human circadian rhythms.2 Despite animal data showing anticipation of food availability, linked to a Food Entrainable Oscillator3, it is unknown whether human physiology predicts mealtimes and restricted food availability. In a controlled laboratory protocol, we tested the hypothesis that the human circadian system anticipates large meals. Twenty-four male participants undertook an 8-day laboratory study, with strict sleep-wake schedules, light-dark schedules, and food intake. For six days, participants consumed either hourly small meals throughout the waking period, or two large daily meals (7.5 and 14.5-h after wake-up). All participants then undertook a 37-hour constant routine. Interstitial glucose was measured every 15 minutes throughout the protocol. Hunger was assessed hourly during waking periods. Saliva melatonin was measured in the constant routine. During the 6-day feeding pattern, both groups exhibited increasing glucose concentration early each morning. In the small meal group, glucose concentrations continued to increase across the day. However, in the large meal group, glucose concentrations decreased from 2-h after waking until the first meal. Average 24-h glucose concentration did not differ between groups. In the constant routine, there was no difference in melatonin onset between groups, but antiphasic glucose rhythms were observed, with low glucose at the time of previous meals in the large meal group. Moreover, in the large meal group, constant routine hunger scores increased before the predicted meal times. These data support the existence of human food anticipation.