In 2014, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) awarded the University of Cambridge three million pounds to establish a Centre of Research Excellence (CRE). The current Centre (2014-2019) is led by Prof Nick Morrell and managed by Dr Katja Kivinen, and brings together leading investigators across the University and affiliated Institutes.
The Centre provides a focus for cardiovascular researchers in Cambridge and strengthens internal collaborations through funding for studentships, fellowships, and pilot projects. It also supports the integration of research groups within the planned Cambridge Heart and Lung Research Institute (HLRI), for which the fundraising is ongoing.
The overarching aim of the Centre is to advance understanding of cardiovascular conditions by applying our combined expertise in generating assumption-free approaches. The Centre has four main research themes with a cross-cutting fifth theme providing expertise for translation of research outcomes. The themes are:
- Cardiometabolic Medicine
- Functional Genomics
- Population Sciences
- Vascular Medicine
- Experimental Medicine (cross-cutting, focus on translation)
The Centre is led by a Steering group representing the main research themes:
- Prof Nick Morrell (Director 2014-2019)
- Prof Martin Bennett (Vascular Medicine)
- Prof John Danesh (Population Sciences)
- Prof Ziad Mallat (Vascular Medicine)
- Prof Willem Ouwehand (Functional Genomics)
- Prof Nicole Soranzo (Functional Genomics)
- Prof Toni Vidal-Puig (Cardiometabolic Medicine)
- Prof Ian Wilkinson (Experimental Medicine)
The Centre has appointed a Scientific Advisory Board to give it guidance and feedback:
- Prof Calum MacRae (Harvard University)
- Prof Dan Rader (University of Pennsylvania)
- Prof Peter Weissberg (retired, formerly BHF Medical Director)
- Prof Martin Wilkins (Imperial College London)
