University of Edinburgh research receives £5 million funding boost from the British Heart Foundation

~ Funding will support world-leading cardiovascular research at the university ~

The British Heart Foundation has awarded the University of Edinburgh £5 million funding to support its world-class cardiovascular disease research over the next five years, the charity has announced today.

Researchers at the University welcomed the announcement. 

Professor David Newby, BHF Duke of Edinburgh Professor of Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh, said: “We are delighted to be the recipient of this prestigious award which will enable us to deliver a step-change in our research into heart and circulatory diseases, stroke, vascular dementia and diabetes.

“The award will accelerate our drive to identify new discoveries across disciplines and to establish the next generation of science and scientific researchers with the ultimate aim of improving the lives of our patients.”

The funding will support the University of Edinburgh to cultivate a world-class research environment that encourages collaboration, inclusion and innovation, and where visionary scientists can drive lifesaving breakthroughs.

The Edinburgh award is part of a much needed £35 million boost to UK cardiovascular disease research from the British Heart Foundation.

The funding comes from the charity’s highly competitive Research Excellence Awards funding scheme.

The £5 million award to the University of Edinburgh will support researchers to:

• Investigate how hardening of the major arteries develops throughout the body to cause heart attacks, strokes and circulatory problems, and how this interacts with the body’s immune and nervous systems.
• Discover how small blood vessel disease in the brain causes strokes and vascular dementia so that we can develop and test new ways to prevent and to treat these major health problems.
• Accelerate our understanding of how the body’s metabolism in fat, immune and kidney tissue causes heart and circulatory problems throughout life: from the womb through to old age.
• Deliver new ways of using routinely collected health data with DataLoch to identify those at risk of heart attacks or strokes, and to embed this into health records systems to prevent diseases before they occur.

Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to continue to support research at the University of Edinburgh addressing the biggest challenges in cardiovascular disease. This funding recognises the incredible research happening at Edinburgh and will help to further its reputation as a global leader in the field.

“With generous donations from our supporters, this funding will attract the brightest talent, power cutting-edge science, and unlock lifesaving discoveries that can turn the tide on the devastation caused by heart and circulatory diseases.”

David McColgan, Head of BHF Scotland, said: “It is great news that the University of Edinburgh has once again been recognised as a centre of research excellence. Scotland has a strong tradition of leading the way in cardiovascular research and today’s announcement will further reinforce this for years to come.”

Research Excellence Awards offer researchers greater flexibility than traditional research funding, allowing scientists to quickly launch ambitious projects that can act as a springboard for larger, transformative funding applications.

The funding also aims to break down the silos that have traditionally existed in research, encouraging collaboration between experts from diverse fields.

From clinicians to data scientists, biologists to engineers, the funding will support universities to attract the brightest minds, nurture new talent and foster collaboration to tackle the biggest questions in heart and circulatory disease research.

First launched in 2008, the University of Edinburgh has previously received nearly £14 million funding through the BHF’s Research Excellence Awards funding scheme to date.

This funding has supported research that will lay the foundations for future breakthroughs, including:

• A trial that showed that a simple scan could save thousands of lives every year by improving the diagnosis of people coming to hospital with chest pain. The scan is now recommended as a first-line diagnostic tool in NICE guidelines for people presenting at hospital with chest pain.
• Development of an artificial intelligence tool that can improve diagnosis of acute heart failure. The tool uses AI to combine routinely collected patient information with results from a blood test for the protein NT-proBNP, which is made by the heart. The researchers are now investigating how it could be implemented into routine care.
• Over the last 5 years, investing in the training and development of 12 doctors to become researchers who are increasing knowledge today and developing new life-saving treatments for tomorrow.