A new multi-million pound centre to turbocharge cardiovascular research has opened at the University of Leicester.
The BHF Leicester Centre of Research Excellence aims to drive forward medical innovations so that patients can benefit from cutting edge science.
It was officially declared open today (8 September), by Centre Director, Professor André Ng at a special event held by the University.
Some £3 million for the centre has come from the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) highly competitive Research Excellence Award scheme, match funded by the University and with additional money from the University Hospitals of Leicester, taking the total investment in cardiovascular disease research to around £7 million.
Funding will support the University to expand its ground-breaking studies into the causes of common and rare cardiovascular diseases, as well as refining appropriate treatments and interventions.
The centre itself will be based at Glenfield Hospital in the University led, British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Research Centre. Three new researchers have already been taken on to help drive forward its ambitions.
“The groundbreaking work taking place here in Leicester can now be turbocharged through the introduction of the next generation of cardiovascular researchers,” said Professor Ng.
“The centre will build a collaborative community of world-class researchers working across a multitude of cardiovascular disease areas and non-medical disciplines. Together, they will drive forward lifesaving breakthroughs.”
Leading the work throughout three key areas will be heart specialist, Professor Gerry McCann, whose research team works to better understand heart disease and will focus on cardiovascular interventions.
Professor McCann said: “We’re thrilled to be driving forward vital cardiovascular research that could benefit people worldwide. It’s important for us to look at patient genetics and other factors to identify causes of common and rare cardiovascular disease and to help predict who is at most risk of developing disease so that we can target preventative strategies.”
Specialist vascular surgeon, Professor Matt Bown, who is pioneering research in vascular disease, will lead the discovery team to focus on new discoveries that can increase patient survival, and Professor Kamlesh Khunti, an internationally recognised leader in ethnic health research, will lead the team to concentrate on transforming research and care for people with cardiovascular conditions across all populations and ethnicities.
Professor Matt Bown said: “It is also crucial to improve the treatments available to patients by developing, testing and refining new ways to do this and understanding which ones might work best for different people.”
Professor Khunti added: “We know how cardiovascular diseases and other common conditions are associated with each other, but we want to help identify who might benefit from interventions that target more than one condition at a time, and the combinations of treatments that different patients might require, particularly working with different ethnic groups to identify which treatments are best for each group.”
Professor James Leiper, Director of Research at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We’re delighted to continue and extend our support of vital research at the University of Leicester. This funding, made possible by the generous donations of our supporters, will help to retain outstanding scientists and attract major talent to make lifesaving discoveries possible.“We need more cutting-edge science, like the incredible research already happening in Leicester, to turn the tide on the devastation caused by cardiovascular disease.”