Top honours for research
- The BHF Professors (or Chairs') are some of the best doctors and scientists in the UK.
- 27 BHF Chairs are currently in post across the UK.
Top honours for research
2005 saw two BHF researchers, Professors Rory Collins and Anna Dominiczak, receive prestigious awards in recognition of research excellence.
Action
Professor Rory Collins and the University of Oxford’s Clinical Trials Service Unit (CTSU) were awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. The Unit’s ground-breaking research will revolutionise public health and cut deaths from heart attacks and strokes by up to 10,000 a year.
The CTSU has established the use of ‘mega-trials’ in their research – randomised studies involving very large numbers of people, which produce vast quantities of data. They have also used ‘meta-analyses’ – pooling the data of many small studies from across the globe to improve their statistical power.
At the CTSU Professor Collins has led studies, such as the Heart Protection Study, which has given doctors the evidence that statins can play a major role in reducing the possibility of a heart attack by around 25% for people at high risk of heart disease.
Professor Anna Dominiczak was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 2005 New Year Honour’s List in recognition of her services to medicine. She is currently head of the new BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, which provides state-of-the-art experimental and clinical facilities to further vital research into cardiovascular disease and translates the findings into more effective life-saving treatments.
Professor Dominiczak continues to treat patients in clinic while leading cutting-edge research into the underlying causes of high blood pressure and impaired function of blood vessels in disease.
Impact
The effects of Professor Collins’ studies are already having far-reaching effects on public health across the UK . Before the trial, only a very small group of people suffering from high cholesterol levels were eligible for free NHS treatment with statins. This has now been extended to a further six million people, including smokers, the obese and the elderly, who are at higher risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Professor Dominiczak has played a leading role in the creation of the BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, which will give the area of the UK that suffers most from heart disease the chance to be at the forefront of the fight against it. Her own research has already contributed significantly to our understanding of the genes responsible for blood pressure control.
Next steps
We will continue to support a portfolio of BHF Chairs around the UK, who are helping to nurture the best environment for award-winning research. In addition we will headhunt worldwide for the best heart doctors and researchers to take up more BHF Chairs in UK centres.