British Heart Foundation’s Centre of Research Excellence launches at The University of Manchester

The University of Manchester has launched the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Manchester Centre of Research Excellence following an award of £4 million to support world-class cardiovascular disease from the leading charity.

The award from the BHF is part of a £35 million boost to UK cardiovascular disease research, with the funding stemming from the charity’s highly competitive Research Excellence Awards funding scheme.

President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Duncan Ivison and Professor Tony Heagerty, Head of School of Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health delivered opening remarks.

Professor 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 of the BHF Manchester Centre of Research Excellence 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. Over the coming years, we will strive forward 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.”

Manchester produced an outstanding bid in a very tough national funding competition. BHF was delighted to fund their bid because the Manchester research team and their research plan are outstanding, with a focus on tackling important aspects of heart disease with leading edge innovation, and a desire to make a real difference for patients.”

Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, BHF

The BHF Manchester Centre of Research Excellence will focus on key cardiovascular diseases, including:

• Discover the reasons why some babies are born with heart problems (congenital heart disease) and find ways in which these problems could be better predicted, potentially avoided, and treated when they occur in families.
• Better understand the genetic drivers of high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions.
• Provide new insights into the causes and consequences of heart failure and identify new potential treatment strategies.
• Uncover the links between inflammation and inflammatory diseases (such as certain types of arthritis) and the higher risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke these patients carry and find ways to break these links.
• Use Artificial Intelligence on largescale datasets to identify how we can better identify and prevent disease in patients with cardiovascular diseases, including those suffering from other conditions such as cancer.

Heart health is a key research priority for the University’s Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. Policy@Manchester, The University of Manchester’s dedicated unit for influencing and challenging policymakers with research-informed evidence and ideas, is also focused on cardiovascular health through its Healthy Hearts initiative.

It is hoped the funding will help to break down siloes that have traditionally existed in research and encourage collaboration between experts from diverse fields, cross-discipline, to help answer some of the biggest questions in heart and circulatory disease research.

The BHF’s investment for Manchester, announced in 2024, was followed by matched funding from the University - bringing the total investment into cardiovascular disease research at Manchester to £8 million.

In attendance at the launch event held at the historic Whitworth Art Gallery were the BHF Manchester Centre of Research Excellence Deputy Director, Professor Maciej Tomaszewski, Professor Bryan Williams, OBE, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the BHF, and the representatives of The University of Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Ms Toli Onon - Joint Chief Medical Officer and Professor Bernard Clarke - Associate Chief Medical Officer.