Dr Nicholas Freestone
Faculties, deparments and locations
- Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Department of Pharmacy
- School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry
- Penrhyn Road
Associate Professor
- Email:
- n.freestone@kingston.ac.uk
About
I am an Associate Professor for Physiology and Pharmacology. I research in two different disciplines. The first is in bioscience and relates largely to studying calcium handling in isolated cardiac myocytes. The second relates to my interrogation of the nature of learning itself at university via my educational research.
I ran my own BHF-funded laboratory at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge in Professor Sir Michael Berridge's Laboratory of Molecular Signalling. Here I pharmacologically characterised a novel cardiac beta-adrenoceptor. As a pedagogical researcher I have run national workshops on teaching and learning for colleagues for the AdvanceHE and the Heads of University Biosciences (HUBS)/Royal Society of Biology (RSB).
I am a Senior Fellow of the HEA, a Fellow of the RSB and was, for a number of years, Education Lead for the Physiological Society. I was UK HEA Bioscience Teacher of the Year in 2014/15 and am now Chair of the judging panel for this award. I set up a national "Bridging the Awarding Gaps" Network for the RSB in 2020 and now co-Chair this network. Undergraduate courses I led were shortlisted by the Guardian University Awards in the "Course Design, Student Outcomes and Retention" category.
As the Physiological Society's Education Lead I ran a series of worldwide webinars on topics as diverse as "Teaching in the Time of Covid", "Delivering Final Year or Capstone projects" and "Diversity in Teaching". As Expert Panel Member for the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) I helped draw up a new national BSc Pharmacology curriculum. I am now part of the BPS's Inclusive Pharmacology Group.
I am an acknowledged expert in UK Biosciences teaching having national roles which shape policy and strategy in those disciplines.
As a culmination of these efforts in 2021 I was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by AdvanceHE.
Qualifications
- BSc Physiology (with Pharmacology) and Psychology
- MPhil Clinical Biochemistry
- PhD Cardiovascular Physiology
- PGCHE
Domains
My research has largely involved looking at the role of beta adrenoceptors in regulating single cardiac cell function. In particular I helped to characterise the role of a novel beta-AR now called the low affinity beta1-AR. This receptor is resistant to blockade by propranolol but seems to be linked to arrhythmogenesis. I am also interested in the morphological and functional differences between atrial and ventricular cardiac cells. Techniques I have used to investigate these areas have included single cell fluorescence, confocal microscopy, western blotting and biochemical assays.
I have also induced experimental forms of heart failure in experimental animals and studied the effect of novel pharmacological agents on the compromised myocardium.
In terms of pedagogical research I have extensively investigated the nature of the student experience at Kingston University, especially as it relates to the MPharm Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science degrees. I am currently investigating BME attainment in these programmes
I was, for a number of years, the Educational Theme Lead for The Physiological Society and a member of the Education, Public Engagement and Policy Committee of The Physiological Society. This was a pivotal role in the policy and practice environment as it relates to the teaching and dissemination of physiology and related Biosciences across the UK.
I was also a member of a working group acting for the British Pharmacological Society that drew up the new BSc Pharmacology curriculum for Pharmacology courses in the UK.
Using all the resources at my disposal as a result of the above leadership and management roles I have been able to initiate a number of successful interventions into my teaching practice. These have resulted in the courses that I led, the suite of undergraduate Pharmaceutical Science degrees at Kingston University being shortlisted for the Guardian University Awards in 2020. This was for work I have done in removing the attainment gaps for all identifiable student cohorts in this degree.
I was also an elected member of Senate, Kingston University's most senior consultative committee for academic matters and this gave me a role to play in the strategic direction of the university, especially in the area of learning, teaching and assessment.
More recently I have played a leading role in the Society of Experimental Biology's (SEB) "Awards Nominations Task Force" that seeks to widen the pool of applicants for the SEB's prestigious awards. This resulted in the following acknowledgement.
"Within the SEB Outreach, Education and Diversity (OED) working group, Nick's contagious enthusiasm fuels actionable change. From organising sessions at conferences to his pivotal role within the SEB Awards Nomination Task Force, he advocates for diversity and inclusivity, ensuring deserving voices are heard and celebrated."
Finally, I am the elected Secretary of the Kingston University Branch of the University and College Union.
All of the above roles are ones to which I have been elected by my peers and enable me to play a strategic and practical role in shaping the future, not only of Kingston University, but learning in the wider Biosciences.
Publications
Pharmacological treatment strategies of pterygium : drugs, biologics, and novel natural products
Baheran, Sanaz Sadig, Alany, Raid G., Schwikkard, Sianne, Muen, Wisam, Salman, Lena Namaan, Freestone, Nicholas and Al-Kinani, Ali A., 2022, Drug Discovery Today, pp 103416
Editorial : education in a time of COVID
Hall, Sarah and Freestone, Nick, 2020, Physiology News (119)
Students' perceptions of the value of electronic feedback : does disciplinary background really matter?
ElShaer, Amr, Casanova, Diogo, Freestone, Nicholas S and Calabrese, Gianpiero, 2020, British Journal Of Educational Technology (51), 2, pp 590-606
Microvascular function in pre-eclampsia is influenced by insulin resistance and an imbalance of angiogenic mediators
Ghosh, Anshuman, Freestone, Nicholas S, Anim-Nyame, Nicholas and Arrigoni, Francesca I F, 2017, Physiological Reports (5), 8, pp e13185
Relationship between insulin resistance and circulating endothelial cells in pre-eclampsia.
Anim-Nyame, Nick, Ghosh, Anshuman, Freestone, Nicholas and Arrigoni, Francesca, 2015, Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology (31), 10, pp 788-791
[Beta]-Adrenergic subtypes in chick embryonic cardiac myocytes
Sam, C, Alhakem, H and Freestone, N.S., 2013, Proceedings of the 6th European Congress of Pharmacology, pp 63-66
Equity in Higher Education provision: stretching the able
Freestone, N., 2013, Proceedings Of the 6th European Congress of Pharmacology, pp 189-192
A novel mechanism for the genesis of arrhythmias? The role of the low affinity β1-adrenergic receptor and CGP12177 in spontaneous calcium release in rat atrial myocytes
Sam, C.L.S., Bolton, T.B., Piper, I.T., Greenhill, D and Freestone, N.S., 2013, Proceedings of the 6th European Congress of Pharmacology, pp 75-78
Collaborative teaching across the 1992 divide
Freestone, Nicholas, Khan, Aisha and Sam, Cynthia, 2012, Proceedings STEM Annual Conference 2012
Tumour cell adhesion of endothelial cell monolayer
Abdullah, A, Arrigoni, F and Freestone, N, 2010, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology (62), 10, pp 1496-1498
Drafting and acting on feedback supports student learning when writing essay assignments
Freestone, Nicholas, 2009, Advances in Physiology Education (33), 2, pp 98-102
Exploring pharmacy students’ experience on the Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs)
Mason, T, Odeh, Sarah and Freestone, Nicholas(2024). In: Pharmacy Education Conference 2024, 24 Jun 2024 :Manchester, U.K.
Diversifying the curriculum for OSCE assessments
Mason, Thuy, Freestone, Nicholas and Odeh, Sarah(2024). In: Festival of Learning 2024, 20 Jun 2024 :Kingston upon Thames, U.K.
Dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase levels in blood outgrowth endothelial cells
Halliday, Loryn, Freestone, Nicholas and Arrigoni, Francesca(2021). In: Physiology 2021, 12-16 Jul 2021 :Held online
ADA2 expression and activity in blood outgrowth endothelial cells
Halliday, L., Brogan, P., Freestone, N. and Arrigoni, F.(2020). In: 3rd International Conference on Deficiency of Adenosine Deaminase 2 : Driving Toward Consensus, 17-19 Nov 2020 :Held online
Adenosine deaminase 2 restores the endothelial glycocalyx of blood outgrowth endothelial cells
Halliday, Loryn, Esposito, Giulia, Brogan, Paul, Freestone, Nicholas and Arrigoni, Francesca(2019). In: Future Physiology 2019 : Translating Cellular Mechanisms into Lifelong Health Strategies, 17-18 Dec 2019 :Liverpool, U.K.
Influence of adenosine deaminase 2, on the angiogenic function of blood outgrowth endothelial cells
Halliday, Loryn, Brogan, Paul, Freestone, Nicholas and Arrigoni, Francesca(2019). In: Pharmacology 2019, 15-17 Dec 2019 :Edinburgh, U.K.
Circulating microparticle levels in children following the initiation of antiretroviral therapy
Luckhurst, Natasha, Kenny, Julia, Hunter, Patricia, Freestone, Nicholas, Klein, Nigel and Arrigoni, Francesca(2019). In: British Society for Immunology (BSI) Congress 2019, 02-05 Dec 2019 :Liverpool, U.K.
Monocyte-derived microparticles activate human monocytes and promote their transendothelial migration
Luckhurst, Natasha, Hunter, Patricia, Freestone, Nicholas, Klein, Nigel and Arrigoni, Francesca(2019). In: British Society for Immunology (BSI) Congress 2019, 02-05 Dec 2019 :Liverpool, U.K.
Supporting inclusion and encouraging diversity in chemistry
Freestone, Nicholas and Thatti, Baljit(2019). In: Redefining Success: Royal Society of Chemistry Inclusion and Diversity Forum 2019, 05 Nov 2019 :London, U.K.
Adenosine deaminase 2 promotes growth and migration of blood outgrowth endothelial cells, in the presence of adenosine
Halliday, L., Brogan, P., Freestone, N. and Arrigoni, F.(2019). 01 Nov 2019 : Kingston upon Thames, U.K.
The use of co-curricular activities to increase student engagement on interdisciplinary degree courses and instil graduate outcomes
Ghatora, Baljit, Freestone, Nicholas and Rooney, Brian(2018). In: Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference: Making Connections, Innovating and Sharing Pedagogy, 28-29 Jun 2018 :Hull, U.K.
Personal tutors and tutees perceptions of a personal tutoring system
Thatti, Baljit, Freestone, Nicholas and Ali, Salma(2018). In: Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference : Making Connections, Innovating and Sharing Pedagogy, 28-29 Jun 2018 :Hull, U.K.
Alterations in cellular microparticle levels as a marker of cellular activation and injury in children with HIV infection
Luckhurst, N., Kenny, J., Hunter, P., Freestone, N., Klein, N. and Arrigoni, F.(2018). In: 36th Annual European Society of Infectious Diseases (ESPID) Meeting : Advances in Paediatric Infectious Diseases, 28 May - 02 Jun 2018 :Malmo, Sweden
A developmental shift in retention of content from digital and paper sources?
Freestone, Nicholas, Singh Lohia, Gurpreet and Mason, Thuy(2015). 07-09 Jun 2015 : Cork, Ireland
Differentiated learning: an update
Freestone, N(2013). In: HEA STEM: Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2013: Where practice and pedagogy meet, 17-18 April 2013 :Birmingham, UK
Teaching collaboratively across the 1992 divide
Freestone, Nick(2012). In: Educational Research Forum, 15 Jun 2012 :Kingston upon Thames, U.K.
Team teaching across two very different higher education institutions: the Kingston MPharm degree
Freestone, Nicholas and Sam, Cynthia(2011). In: Scanning the Horizons: Institutional Research in a Borderless World. The 4th UK and Ireland Higher Education Institutional Research Network Conference, 16-17 Jun 2011 :Kingston, U.K.
Unpalatable truths about institutional research: when doing the right thing costs
Freestone, Nicholas and Sam, Cynthia(2011). In: Scanning the Horizons: Institutional Research in a Borderless World. The 4th UK and Ireland Higher Education Institutional Research Network Conference, 16-17 Jun 2011 :Kingston, U.K.