Professor Martin Bennett & Professor Willem Ouwehand
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Professor Martin Bennett
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Professor Willem Ouwehand
Cardiovascular disease is currently the main cause of ill health and premature death in the UK, with atherosclerosis (causing heart attack and stroke), heart failure, hypertension and vascular auto-immune diseases reducing the quality of life for many.
Research in this area has expanded our understanding of the basic elements of cardiovascular development, physiology, pathology and pharmacology and, with this knowledge, it has been possible to establish new approaches to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular research in Cambridge is spread across multiple sites, with invasive and some noninvasive research performed at Papworth Hospital, and non-invasive, preclinical and basic research performed at Cambridge University Hospitals/Cambridge University. We are particularly keen to emphasise the participation of both basic scientists and clinicians to foster the transmission of new scientific findings into clinical practice.
Financial support from Cambridge BRC has transformed our ability to deliver experimental studies by funding or leveraging funding for research and support staff on both sites. In the last four years, BRC investment has supported two new Senior Lecturer/Consultants, two new Clinical Lecturers, four research fellows and two technicians, and our team includes four research nurses to recruit and administer the studies. For example, the BRC funding to the Pulmonary Vascular Diseases Unit at Papworth has enabled us to recruit two research nurses who are central to the success of our translational programme. Papworth is a nationally designated centre for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and is the only centre designated to undertake pulmonary endarterectomy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).
Being part of the Cambridge BRC has enabled our team to 'buy' time in invasive facilities via NIHR Comprehensive Local Research Network funding, and through central BRC-funded research facilities such as the PET/CT
In addition, the Cardiovascular theme has been able to support core laboratory facilities and resources including the Biochemistry laboratory for biomarkers, DNA microarrays for genetic markers of high risk disease, blood and tissue banks for archived material - consortium coordinators and a BioResource manager.
We are also able to provide a mechanism for progression and retention of clinical academics in this highly dynamic field, via appointments from clinical lecturers to senior lecturers and research fellows to clinical lecturers.
BRC funding has provided a step change in our ability to deliver Phase I and II clinical studies by allowing us access to clinical facilities, and by changing the attitude to research among clinical, support and managerial staff. We are pleased that this investment has helped to lever additional financial support from external partners for our work.
The Cardiovascular theme has established over 25 NIHR portfolio studies and recruited over 3500 patients. This is a significant achievement considering the complex, intensive, invasive nature of some of these studies, including in semi-emergency settings such as percutaneous intervention (PCI).
Investigator-led studies have also instituted clinical investigational techniques and technologies, in particular establishing us as a centre of excellence for research imaging, which has resulted in subsequent industry studies being attracted to Cambridge.
We would like to acknowledge the vital contribution made by the general public to our work through Cambridge BioResource which, six years on, continues to expand a volunteer panel that remains a world-leading resource for researchers. We are pleased to report that Cambridge BRC-funded research has already changed the design of outpatient clinics and the way that patients are assessed. It is also enabling our world-class research team to make a continued contribution to the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Professor Martin Bennett: mrb24@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Professor Willem Ouwehand: df296@cam.ac.uk
May 2011
