Partnership secures £6.5m funding for cardiovascular research

The award is the result of the partnership’s successful application to the National Institute for Health Research for Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit designation and funding.

It builds on major investment in translational cardiovascular research at Barts and The London with the new £25m William Harvey Heart Centre, and complements the new hospital at Barts.

The new funding will accelerate the translation of promising lab research from ‘bench to bedside’ over the next five years.

The joint application was selected on the basis of international research excellence, plans for increasing research capacity and ability to undertake experimental research, the relevance of research to patients and the public, its record of translating biomedical research into clinical research, and the strengths of its strategic partnerships.

More than 180,000 people died from cardiovascular disease in 2009 which equates to one in three deaths; making it the UK’s biggest killer.

Peter Morris, Chief Executive of Barts and The London NHS Trust said: “This award of £6.5 million will significantly help researchers find better ways to treat cardiovascular disease.

“With the country’s biggest heart attack centre located at The London Chest Hospital our specialists deal with the human cost of heart disease on a daily basis.

“Barts and The London NHS Trust has a long history of pioneering new research and I look forward to seeing the new therapies, better drugs and potential cures that could potentially result from this generous research grant.”

Professor Mark Caulfield, Director of the William Harvey Research Institute at Barts and The London Medical School led the application. He said: “This investment by the National Institute for Health Research is a major endorsement of Barts and The London’s research strategy to accelerate the progress of new therapies for heart disease and stroke into patient care in North East London”.