Leicester’s strength is our clinical care and research into heart disease, lung disease and diabetes. As a BRC we will focus on research into these common diseases that place a huge and increasing burden on individuals, families and society.
Our plans are based on a strong foundation of discovery research and cover the understanding of the genetic causes of these diseases to investigating the benefits of lifestyle changes – especially focused on increasing different types of physical activity as both a preventative action and as a medicine for managing and minimising the disease burden.
Key to our strategy is advancing the idea of precision medicine, that is, adjusting treatments for individuals based on their personal characteristics, including their genetic make-up. This will make sure that everyone has the most effective treatment for them, while reducing the risks of side-effects.
We aim to:
- Improve treatment of patients who have a heart attack or stroke, or suffer with heart failure, develop new and more accurate tests to diagnose heart disease and to predict outcomes so treatments can be personalised, and make heart surgery safer
- Develop new tests to diagnose and improve personalised treatments for lung diseases such as asthma
- Develop evidence to support different lifestyle and physical activity treatments to prevent and reduce the burden of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and kidney disease
- Use our discovery research to understand the role of genetics and our environment on chronic disease, to help us predict and prevent them, and create new treatments
We will do this by:
- Seamlessly integrating pre-clinical and clinical science
- Providing state-of-the-art infrastructure, including laboratories, assessment units, biopsy rooms, cardiac and respiratory imaging and informatics platforms
- Supporting research themes using core integrated plans, such as an overarching patient and public involvement and engagement workstream endorsed by INVOLVE
- Investing in senior clinical personnel and non-clinical academics
- Establishing and cementing high-quality national and international partnerships with other NIHR bodies, as well as charities and industry
- We will create a legacy by training the next generation of independent researchers to ensure better care and more discoveries in the future.