Research excellence at the University of Oxford

Research Excellence (round2) - University of Oxford

In 2008 the BHF began a £34 million investment strategy to support four top UK universities as BHF Centres of Research Excellence, aiming to secure the UK’s future as a world-leading force in heart research. The University of Oxford received £8.4 million to establish the Oxford BHF Centre of Research Excellence (CRE). Led by BHF Professor Hugh Watkins, the Oxford CRE is one of the UK’s strongest environments for cardiovascular research, and five BHF Professors are now based there. Oxford’s truly collaborative cardiovascular community is enabling, among others, basic scientists to improve our understanding of disease, clinicians, mathematicians and chemists to share their ideas and expertise and drive forward new research. The BHF has now awarded an additional £6 million to enable the Oxford CRE to build on its success and continue as a BHF Centre of Research Excellence for the next five years. Oxford will aim even higher, to become one of the leading cardiovascular centres worldwide and a major UK training centre in heart research. They will encourage scientists to investigate exciting research ideas and invest in new equipment and infrastructure to enable scientists of different disciplines to work together. They will use the latest technology to analyse vast amounts of data generated from large clinical studies and genetic research to understand the causes of heart disease. By combining cutting-edge research in genetics and chemistry they aim to discover brand new drugs for heart conditions. Regenerative medicine and stem cell biology will continue to be a priority to find ways to repair the heart after the damage caused by a heart attack. This funding will enable Oxford to harness world-leading expertise across the spectrum of heart research with the long-term goal of making a real difference to people with heart disease.