Highlights from 'At the Heart of Innovation: BHF Translational Research Day 2025'
On 6 November 2025, 1 America Square in London became a hub for innovation and networking opportunities as the BHF Translational Research Day 2025 brought together entrepreneurial academics, industry leaders, and venture capitalists, alongside an audience of over 100 BHF-funded researchers.
The morning sessions featured inspiring talks from academics that have not only pioneered innovative cardiovascular technologies and therapeutics at the bench, but have also overcome the notorious ‘valley of death’ to produce real-world clinical impact. Talks from Professor Giovanna Lombardi, Professor Federica Marelli-Berg, Professor Marianna Fontana, Professor David Adlam and Professor Andrew Grace highlighted the resilience, creativity, and collaborative efforts needed when translating research into patient benefit.
The afternoon session included roundtable and panel discussions with NovoNordisk, AstraZeneca and Eli Lily, bridging the gap between academic innovation and industry. Patent attorneys guided researchers through intellectual property considerations while venture capitalists provided valuable advice on early-stage investment opportunities. The day concluded with the BHF Keynote Lecture delivered by Professor Dame Molly Stevens, a serial entrepreneur who shared her extensive experience in commercialising medical devices.
Read the Translational Research Day 2025 agenda.
The successes of the day were highlighted in reflections by Professor Andrew Grace, University of Cambridge: 'the Translational Research Day 2025 provided powerful evidence of the Foundation’s commitment to ensuring advances in our understanding of fundamental biology impact on patient care. It was a brilliant event, thank you for making it so special’.
Professor David Adlam, University of Leicester, also commented: 'this was a fantastic event. An opportunity to reach beyond the traditional metrics of research success to meet and hear from researchers who have developed new skills working with industry partners and investors to set up and work with businesses small and large. This has allowed them to make their visionary research into something which makes a practical and tangible difference to patients with cardiovascular diseases’.
Looking ahead
We believe that the educational exchange at Translational Research Day 2025 is an invaluable source for BHF cardiovascular researchers striving to succeed in translational research. We look forward to further strengthening this network by inviting you to our next Translational Research Day on 24 February 2027 – save the date!
If you are interested in our participating in our next event, please email us at: [email protected].
