ICMR and BHF are mending broken hearts
Thursday, 09 May 2013
Dr Sam Boateng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Christine Williams, BHF Chief Executive Simon Gillespie and Professor Jon Gibbins at the campaign launch
The University of Reading is working in partnership with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to fight back against heart disease, which accounts for one in three of all deaths in the UK.
On Tuesday 7 May we were delighted to host the launch of the BHF's latest campaign 'Mending Broken Hearts' which aims to raise awareness of the importance of funding research in the area of heart health.
BHF are currently providing £3.5 million for the University's Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research (ICMR) to fund eight research projects in areas such as thrombosis, blood clotting and the mechanisms of heart failure, four PhDs, an infrastructure grant and a research programme.
Dr Sam Boateng of the ICMR is funded by the BHF to conduct research into the mechanisms of heart failure, and as such is one of five leading academics who feature in the campaign, which includes a number of television adverts.
There are more photos on the University's Facebook page and you can hear Dr Boateng talk about his work on YouTube.
Professor Jon Gibbins, Director of the ICMR, said: "The BHF celebrated its 50th birthday last year, and is now one of the largest funders of biomedical research in UK. A huge proportion of BHF funds are committed to fundamental research, including the work of the ICMR at Reading. The dramatic improvement that has been made in the treatment of those unfortunate enough to suffer from a heart attack during this period is no coincidence - much of this is down BHF's tireless work to support the best research."