Dr Ana Da Silva Costa

  • Lecturer (MVLS Education Hub)
  • Lecturer (School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health)

telephone: 0141 330 0834
email: Ana.Costa@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns: She/her/hers

MVLS Graduate School, Sir James Black Building, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ

Import to contacts

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424

Biography

Ana Costa completed her BSc (Hons) in Physiology, MRes in Exercise Science, and PhD in Cardiovascular Research at the University of Glasgow. Following her doctorate, she worked in research for three years before transitioning into a teaching-focused career. Ana is now a Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, where she has developed and currently directs both the MSc in Science Communication and the PgCert in Science Public Engagement.

Her work reflects a strong passion for science communication and public engagement, combining her scientific expertise with a dedication to making research accessible, engaging, and impactful for wider audiences. Through her teaching and leadership, Ana fosters innovative approaches to communication and supports students in developing the skills necessary to bridge the gap between science and society.

Ana chairs the ELiXR Working Group which develops VR approaches for teaching at the University.

Research interests

My research focuses on exploring how Virtual Reality (VR) can be leveraged to enhance teaching and learning in higher education. I am particularly interested in the application of immersive VR environments for developing laboratory-based skills, where students can engage in realistic, hands-on learning experiences that are otherwise resource-intensive or challenging to replicate. By investigating the pedagogical impact of VR in these contexts, my work seeks to advance innovative teaching practices, improve student engagement, and support the development of transferable skills for future careers.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2021 | 2020 | 2017
Number of items: 10.

2025

Kaneko, N. et al. (2025) Pharmacological study of the safety, efficacy and potential of M201-A on paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 392(8), 103652. (doi: 10.1016/j.jpet.2025.103652)

2024

Lindsay, Susan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4241-4933, Graham, Lesley ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-5213, Loveridge, Carolyn and Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424 (2024) Embedding Accredited Qualification and Work-Related Training into Postgraduate Courses. The 12th European Conference on Education 2024, London, UK, 11-15th July 2024.

Lindsay, Susan L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4241-4933, Graham, Lesley ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-5213, Loveridge, Carolyn J. and Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424 (2024) Embedding Accredited Qualification and Work-Related Training into Postgraduate Courses. In: 12th European Conference on Education (ECE2024), London, UK, 11-15 Jul 2024, pp. 899-903. (doi: 10.22492/issn.2188-1162.2024.69)

Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424, Masson, Rachel ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0985-6188, Lindsay, Susan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4241-4933, Aman, Alisha ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4022-5880 and Graham, Lesley ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-5213 (2024) Virtual Reality as a Tool for Teaching Employable, Practical Skills in Science-Based Degrees. The 12th European Conference on Education (ECE2024), London, UK, 11-15 July 2024.

Loughrey, C. et al. (2024) A novel ryanodine receptor 2 inhibitor, M201-A, enhances natriuresis, renal function and lusi-inotropic action: Pre-clinical and phase I study. British Journal of Pharmacology, 181(18), pp. 3401-3419. (doi: 10.1111/bph.16379) (PMID:38773354)

2023

Da Silva Costa, A. et al. (2023) Electrically stimulated in vitro heart cell mimic of acute exercise reveals novel immediate cellular responses to exercise: Reduced contractility and metabolism, but maintained calcium cycling and increased myofilament calcium sensitivity. Cell Biochemistry and Function, 41(8), pp. 1147-1161. (doi: 10.1002/cbf.3847) (PMID:37665041)

Kuo, C.-W. S. et al. (2023) Palmitoylation of the pore-forming subunit of Ca(v)1.2 controls channel voltage sensitivity and calcium transients in cardiac myocytes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(7), e220788712. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.2207887120) (PMID:36745790) (PMCID:PMC9963536)

2021

Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424, Mortensen, Peter, Hortigon-Vinagre, Maria P., van der Heyden, Marcel A. G., Burton, Francis L., Gao, Hao ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6852-9435, Simitev, Radostin D. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2207-5789 and Smith, Godfrey L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4821-9741 (2021) Electrophysiology of hiPSC-cardiomyocytes co-cultured with HEK cells expressing the inward rectifier channel. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(12), 6621. (doi: 10.3390/ijms22126621)

2020

Błyszczuk, Przemysław, Zuppinger, Christian, Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424, Nurzynska, Daria, Di Meglio, Franca, Stellato, Mara, Agarkova, Irina, Smith, Godfrey ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4821-9741, Distler, Oliver and Kania, Gabriela (2020) Activated cardiac fibroblasts control contraction of human fibrotic cardiac microtissues by a β-adrenoreceptor-dependent mechanism. Cells, 9(5), 1270. (doi: 10.3390/cells9051270) (PMID:32443848) (PMCID:PMC7290967)

2017

Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424, Hortigon-Vinagre, M.P., Burton, F.L., Heyden, M.A.G. Van Der and Smith, G.L. (2017) P1081Introduction of external IK1-expressing HEK293 to human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes culture. EP Europace, 19(suppl_), iii239-iii239. (doi: 10.1093/ehjci/eux150.004)

This list was generated on Tue Sep 23 08:12:02 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Conference or Workshop Item | Conference Proceedings
Number of items: 10.

Articles

Kaneko, N. et al. (2025) Pharmacological study of the safety, efficacy and potential of M201-A on paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 392(8), 103652. (doi: 10.1016/j.jpet.2025.103652)

Loughrey, C. et al. (2024) A novel ryanodine receptor 2 inhibitor, M201-A, enhances natriuresis, renal function and lusi-inotropic action: Pre-clinical and phase I study. British Journal of Pharmacology, 181(18), pp. 3401-3419. (doi: 10.1111/bph.16379) (PMID:38773354)

Da Silva Costa, A. et al. (2023) Electrically stimulated in vitro heart cell mimic of acute exercise reveals novel immediate cellular responses to exercise: Reduced contractility and metabolism, but maintained calcium cycling and increased myofilament calcium sensitivity. Cell Biochemistry and Function, 41(8), pp. 1147-1161. (doi: 10.1002/cbf.3847) (PMID:37665041)

Kuo, C.-W. S. et al. (2023) Palmitoylation of the pore-forming subunit of Ca(v)1.2 controls channel voltage sensitivity and calcium transients in cardiac myocytes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(7), e220788712. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.2207887120) (PMID:36745790) (PMCID:PMC9963536)

Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424, Mortensen, Peter, Hortigon-Vinagre, Maria P., van der Heyden, Marcel A. G., Burton, Francis L., Gao, Hao ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6852-9435, Simitev, Radostin D. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2207-5789 and Smith, Godfrey L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4821-9741 (2021) Electrophysiology of hiPSC-cardiomyocytes co-cultured with HEK cells expressing the inward rectifier channel. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(12), 6621. (doi: 10.3390/ijms22126621)

Błyszczuk, Przemysław, Zuppinger, Christian, Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424, Nurzynska, Daria, Di Meglio, Franca, Stellato, Mara, Agarkova, Irina, Smith, Godfrey ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4821-9741, Distler, Oliver and Kania, Gabriela (2020) Activated cardiac fibroblasts control contraction of human fibrotic cardiac microtissues by a β-adrenoreceptor-dependent mechanism. Cells, 9(5), 1270. (doi: 10.3390/cells9051270) (PMID:32443848) (PMCID:PMC7290967)

Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424, Hortigon-Vinagre, M.P., Burton, F.L., Heyden, M.A.G. Van Der and Smith, G.L. (2017) P1081Introduction of external IK1-expressing HEK293 to human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes culture. EP Europace, 19(suppl_), iii239-iii239. (doi: 10.1093/ehjci/eux150.004)

Conference or Workshop Item

Lindsay, Susan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4241-4933, Graham, Lesley ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-5213, Loveridge, Carolyn and Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424 (2024) Embedding Accredited Qualification and Work-Related Training into Postgraduate Courses. The 12th European Conference on Education 2024, London, UK, 11-15th July 2024.

Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424, Masson, Rachel ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0985-6188, Lindsay, Susan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4241-4933, Aman, Alisha ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4022-5880 and Graham, Lesley ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-5213 (2024) Virtual Reality as a Tool for Teaching Employable, Practical Skills in Science-Based Degrees. The 12th European Conference on Education (ECE2024), London, UK, 11-15 July 2024.

Conference Proceedings

Lindsay, Susan L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4241-4933, Graham, Lesley ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-5213, Loveridge, Carolyn J. and Da Silva Costa, Ana ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3229-5424 (2024) Embedding Accredited Qualification and Work-Related Training into Postgraduate Courses. In: 12th European Conference on Education (ECE2024), London, UK, 11-15 Jul 2024, pp. 899-903. (doi: 10.22492/issn.2188-1162.2024.69)

This list was generated on Tue Sep 23 08:12:02 2025 BST.

Teaching

Programmes:

  • MSc Science Communication - Programme Director
  • PgCert Science Public Engagement - Programme Co-director

Courses:

  • BIOL5411 - Introduction to Scientific Writing
  • BIOL5412 - Digital Media
  • BIOL5416 - Science Journalism
  • BIOL5459 - Science for Public Spaces

Professional activities & recognition

Prizes, awards & distinctions

  • 2025: Team Award (Teaching Excellence Awards)

Editorial boards

  • 2025: PhysiOdyssey

Professional & learned societies

  • 2023: Fellow, RET

Selected international presentations

  • 2024: The 12th European Conference on Education (London, UK)
  • 2020: 11th World Biomaterials Conference (Glasgow, UK)
  • 2019: European Heart Research Association 2019 (Lisbon, Portugal)

Supplementary

  • Local Host for EHRA 2019, Lisbon, Portugal; STEM Ambassador;

Person smiling

Dr Ana Da Silva Costa on Bluesky