In 1992 Professor Angelini was appointed to the British Heart Foundation Chair of Cardiac Surgery in the University of Bristol, and when the Bristol Heart Institute was opened in October 1995, he became its Head.

In 2005 Professor Angelini and his team received the UK “Surgical Team of the Year Award”

In 2008 and again in 2011 he led the successful bid for the NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in Cardiovascular Medicine in Bristol, and he was appointed as Director. Since 2017 he has been the lead of the Bristol NIHR-BRC Cardiovascular theme. In 2009 he was selected as an NIHR Senior Investigator.

In 2011 he was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

From 2010 to 2016 Professor Gianni Angelini was Clinical Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Head of Cardiac Surgery in the National Heart and Lung Institute based at the Hammersmith Campus.

Prof Angelini main research interests are in saphenous vein bypass graft failure, myocardial protection, cardiopulmonary bypass techniques, blood conservation, coronary artery bypass surgery on the beating heart and arterial revascularisation.  The overall goal of Prof Angelini's research is to optimise the benefits of cardiac surgery on the heart and patient, while reducing the traumatic effects. Specific areas include:

Adult and Paediatric Cardiac Surgery
Clinical studies and trials to reduce myocardial injury and inflammation during adult cardiac surgery, and reperfusion injury in cyanotic children with congenital heart disease. We also try to reduce the inevitable adverse effects of surgical trauma and cardiopulmonary bypass, e.g. by comparing thoracotomy vs. sternotomy for off-pump coronary coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery, warm vs. cold-blood cardioplegia in on-pump coronary and valve surgery, general anaesthesia with high thoracic epidural vs. general anaesthesia alone, and reduced vs. conventional cross-clamp time in combined coronary and valve surgery.

Angiogenesis and regenerative medicine
Using adult vascular progenitor cells, both for use as cardiovascular biomarkers, and for improving therapies in the clinic.

Atherothrombosis
Carrying out preclinical studies and, subsequently, the first-in-man trials of drug gene-therapy and external stenting to treat vein graft stenosis.

At present Prof Angelini is supervising one NIHR-Academic Clinical lecturer, one NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow, 2 PhD,and 3 MD.