Research
European cardiovascular research alliance awards over £5 million to drive new breakthroughs
by
Kaamya Mehta
Published:
by
Kaamya Mehta
Published:
Leading mid-career scientists from the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands are coming together to accelerate breakthroughs in the detection, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
They have received almost €6 million (approx. £5.2 million) from a pioneering partnership between the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the Dutch Heart Foundation (DHF), the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) and the Lefoulon‑Delalande Foundation (LDF), to support vital international research collaborations work over four years. The researchers will share expertise and resources to power new breakthroughs in cardiovascular science and medicine.
The financial backing provided to four research teams include three projects involving UK-based researchers, which will collectively receive £1.39 million from the BHF.
One project will use cutting‑edge imaging and artificial intelligence (AI) to better predict who is at risk of deadly heart rhythm problems, aiming to target lifesaving treatments to the people who need them most. A second project will investigate why women’s hearts may be affected differently by type 2 diabetes before and after the menopause. The third project will uncover why older people find it harder to recover from serious complications after a heart attack, by studying how ageing affects communication between vital organs.
This is the seventh round of awards from the partnership. With these new grants, the total number of projects supported through the international scheme now stands at 23.
Urgent challenges
The funding will enable researchers across the four European countries to work closely together, sharing skills, insight and resources to tackle some of the most urgent challenges in cardiovascular research. By combining expertise in this way, the programme aims to achieve impact at a scale no single country could deliver alone, while fast‑tracking the next generation of research leaders.
The success of the scheme has led to the inclusion of eligible researchers from Spain in the current eighth round of the funding competition, thanks to support from two Spanish national cardiovascular research organisations, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBER-CV). Successful applications will be awarded funding in Spring 2027.
"Emerging leaders"
Professor Metin Avkiran, our Director of International Partnerships and Special Programmes, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting these ambitious research programmes alongside our European partners, and to welcome CNIC and CIBER‑CV to this pioneering partnership. By joining together, we can make the money donated by BHF’s generous supporters go further to drive more lifesaving research.
“By placing mid‑career researchers at the heart of this scheme, we’re backing emerging leaders in cardiovascular science. These partnerships are designed to last well beyond the lifetime of the awards and help address the biggest unmet needs in cardiovascular research.”
The successful projects funded through the seventh round of International Cardiovascular Research Partnership Awards that involve UK researchers working with international collaborators from partner countries are:
AID-MI – The impact of aging on interorgan dysfunction following acute myocardial infarction
Principal investigators: Dr Naveed Akbar (University of Oxford), Professor Clement Cochain (Université Paris Cité), Dr Jana Grune (Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité).
This research will uncover why older people have a harder time recovering from the complications caused by a heart attack, such as lung and kidney problems. Researchers believe this is because ageing disrupts how the organs work together.
Scientists will combine large patient datasets with cutting‑edge laboratory studies and examine immune cells and the cells lining blood vessels – endothelial cells – to track how communication between organs differs in older people following a heart attack.
The project aims to improve diagnosis of lung and kidney problems after a heart attack, develop more targeted treatments, and ultimately improve the health of older patients.
SHEA-META - Sex-Specific Heart-Adipose Communication Driving Metabolic Dysfunction in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy
Principal investigators: Dr Lisa Heather (University of Oxford), Dr Miranda Nabben (Maastricht University), Dr Annie Turkieh (Pasteur Institute).
People with type 2 diabetes are at higher risk of developing a condition called diabetic cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscle doesn’t work as well as it should, which can lead to heart failure.
Before menopause, women are largely protected from diabetic cardiomyopathy, yet after menopause they become more vulnerable than men, and more susceptible to heart failure.
Researchers still do not fully understand why this happens, but believe changing hormone levels after the menopause may disrupt cell signals sent out by fat tissue. This may lead to diabetic cardiomyopathy and trigger damage to the heart.
This study aims to pinpoint how the hearts and fat tissue of women with type 2 diabetes are different before and after the menopause, using animal models, human cells computer modelling and patient data. This could lead to a blood test for earlier diagnosis, and better treatments for women living with type 2 diabetes.
Vamp-MD – Ventricular Arrhythmia Mechanisms & Prediction through Multidomain integration
Principal investigators: Professor Fu Siong Ng (Imperial College London), Dr Laura Bear (University of Bordeaux), Dr Matthijs Cluitmans (Maastricht University),
Sudden cardiac death often strikes without warning, killing thousands of people a year. But current checks can miss individuals at risk of dangerous heart rhythm problems which put people at risk of cardiac arrest, meaning some people receive implanted defibrillators they never need, while others who are truly at risk are left unprotected.
Researchers will aim for better diagnosis of heart rhythm problems, by examining both the heart’s electrical system and its physical structure, seeking to understand how abnormalities can lead to dangerous heart rhythm problems. They will study donated human hearts, use images from cutting-edge 3D MRI scans and CT scans, and harness AI to spot patterns in patient data.
The goal is to give people at higher risk of sudden cardiac death the treatment they need, while sparing those at low risk from having to undergo unnecessary procedures.