5 April 2011
A state-of-the-art facility that will carry out leading research
into heart disease and inspire collaboration between scientists and
clinicians for the benefit of all patients will officially open
later this week.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer and Chief
Scientific Advisor for the Department of Health and the NHS, is to
visit the Bristol Heart Institute on Thursday 7 April to officially
open the Bristol Biomedical Research Unit in Cardiovascular
Disease.
In 2008 University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UH
Bristol) and the University of Bristol were awarded funding from
the National Institute for Health Research (NHIR) to set up a
Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit (BRU).
The NIHR aims to improve the health and wealth of the nation by
creating a health research system in which the NHS supports
outstanding individuals, working in world class facilities,
conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients
and the public. The NIHR has established Biomedical Research Units
to undertake translational clinical research in priority areas of
high disease burden and clinical need to further enhance its
ability to deliver on this overall goal. Each NIHR Biomedical
Research Unit is a partnership between an NHS Trust and a
university, enabling health researchers and clinicians to work
together.
Professor Gianni Angelini, Director of the Cardiac Unit at the
Bristol Heart Institute, British Heart Foundation Chair of Cardiac
Surgery at the University of Bristol and Co-Director of the Bristol
Cardiovascular BRU said:
The award of the NIHR BRU has created a state-of-the-art facility
inspiring collaboration between scientists and clinicians to
perform internationally competitive research and at the same time,
train the next generation translate new research insights into
benefits for patients. We can now of cardiovascular scientists and
clinicians.
Dr Peter Wilde, Head of the Division of Specialised Services at
UH Bristol and -Director of the Bristol Cardiovascular BRU, said:
The NIHR initiative to support Biomedical Research Unit
partnerships is a fantastic way of developing research capability
in the NHS for the benefit of all our patients.
Here in Bristol, the Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit,
situated in the Bristol Heart Institute, is conducting research
into heart disease. Studies are currently been conducted in a broad
range of areas such as heart disease affecting children, research
into stem cell and platelet function as well as imaging.
PHOTOCALL - There is an opportunity to take a photograph of
Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer and Chief
Scientific Advisor for the Department of Health and the NHS
officially opening the Bristol Biomedical Research Unit in
Cardiovascular Disease.
Where: The Atrium, Bristol Heart Institute
When: 16h15
- Ends -
Media Contact:
For further information, please contact:
Fiona Reid on 0117 342 3751 or Fiona.reid@uhbristol.nhs.uk
Notes to editors:
Translational research helps to move new findings from bench to
bedside or from laboratory experiments through to clinical trials
to actual point-of-contact patient applications. In other words, it
is used to translate the findings obtained by basic research more
quickly and efficiently into medical practice, thereby bridging the
gap from discovery to delivery.
