New Cambridge institute to accelerate research into killer conditions

The new Heart and Lung Research Institute (HLRI), a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, officially opens today. We donated £10m to make the new institute possible. 

The HLRI will house the largest concentration of heart and lung researchers in Europe.

It aims to deliver high impact research to drive breakthroughs in the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of diseases that represent the largest health burden in the world.

In the UK, heart and circulatory diseases cause around a quarter of all deaths in the UK – that's more than 160,000 deaths each year. Due to an ageing and growing population, the prevalence of these conditions is increasing.

The HLRI will be the new home of the BHF Cambridge Centre for Cardiovascular Research Excellence - state-of-the-art laboratories studying genomics, population sciences, cellular mechanisms of disease and translational science that will allow scientists to better understand and treat some of the major killers, including coronary heart disease, pulmonary hypertension and stroke.   

Transforming outcomes

Professor Nick Morrell, BHF Professor of Cardiopulmonary Medicine at the University of Cambridge and Director of the HLRI, said: “This an extremely exciting day for us, the result of many years of planning and much hard work, and promises to transform outcomes for patients with cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses.    

“The HLRI brings together two powerhouses of world-leading discovery, innovation and clinical care. This constellation of clinical and academic excellence, in close proximity to major pharmaceutical industry partners, is unusual – there isn’t anything like it in the UK.” 

Professor Nick Morrell and colleagues have set themselves an ambitious target of developing at least 10 new drugs or diagnostic approaches in heart and lung diseases within five years. 

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, our Medical Director, said: “The HLRI will provide incredible opportunities for world-leading experts to work together more closely than ever to drive research into heart and circulatory diseases. We are proud support the institute to achieve its ambitious goals and become a new leader in the fight against the world’s biggest killers.” 

Pictured above are the BHF Centre of Research Excellence laboratories in the HLRI. Photo courtesy of Royal Papworth Hospital. 

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