Future Focus

The University of Manchester, UK, has announced the launch of its British Heart Foundation (BHF) Manchester Centre of Research Excellence following a £4m backing from the heart and circulatory research charity.

The centre, which is also supported by matched funding from the university, aims to advance cardiovascular research by encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration between teams across cardiovascular science, data science and artificial intelligence.

It will focus on discovering why some babies are born with congenital heart disease and finding ways in which this can be better predicted, potentially avoided and treated, as well as understanding the genetic drivers of high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease and other chronic conditions.

Also among the centre’s key aims are gaining new insights into the causes and consequences of heart failure, and uncovering the links between inflammatory diseases and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Maciej Tomaszewski, deputy director of the BHF Manchester Centre of Research Excellence and professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Manchester, said the launch “marks a key turning point for cardiovascular research in Greater Manchester”.

“Built out of a need for collaboration, inclusion and innovation in this space, the centre will serve as a world-class research environment,” Tomaszewski added. “Over the coming years, we will strive to find answers to some of the biggest questions in our field, in the hopes that our research efforts will lead to positive health changes for people in the North West, the UK and beyond.”