11 February 2025
Our new RBHC Research Fund is supporting eleven pioneering projects to advance heart and lung care
We are thrilled to announce the successful applications for the first-ever funding round of Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital Charity’s Research Fund, which is supporting groundbreaking studies that will enhance care for heart and lung patients.
After a highly competitive selection process, eleven pioneering research projects have been awarded funding. Each of these projects has the potential to transform treatment and improve outcomes for patients with serious heart and lung conditions.
Among the successful applications are, Dr Owais Dar, consultant in transplantation and heart failure at Harefield, who will explore tissue proteomics mass spectrometry to identify potential biomarkers for diagnosing rejection in heart transplant recipients. Meanwhile, Dr Shouvik Haldar, consultant cardiologist at Harefield, will harness artificial intelligence and wearable devices to predict atrial arrhythmias, potentially offering a major step forward in the precision detection of heart rhythm disorders.
Dr Rebecca D’Cruz, consultant in respiratory and ventilation medicine at St Thomas Hospital, will investigate the link between physiology and inflammation in patients with respiratory failure caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Dr Luigi Camporota, consultant and professor of intensive care medicine at St Thomas’ Hospital, will examine the impact of a new ventilation technique on bio-markers in severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) for those patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
Dr Maria Comanici, clinical fellow at Harefield, will evaluate responsiveness to antiplatelet therapy in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), helping to refine treatment approaches and improve recovery. Additionally, consultant cardiologist based at Harefield Hospital Dr Vasileios Panoulas’s HEART-ALIVE study, also at Harefield, will assess new risk prediction methods for acute myocardial infarction patients.
These innovative projects, and others, exemplify the Charity’s commitment to funding research that delivers real-world benefits for patients. By supporting these studies, we are fostering the development of more effective treatments, improving diagnostic accuracy, and ultimately enhancing the lives of those affected by heart and lung conditions.
We look forward to seeing the impact of these research projects and will keep our supporters updated on their progress. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Charity, your generosity is helping to shape the future of care.
ENDS
Notes to editor
For further information please contact:
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About Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity
Founded within the UK’s largest centre for heart and lung care, Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospital Charity provide specialist clinicians, academics and researchers with the funding, equipment and resources they need to better prevent, diagnose and treat heart and lung conditions.
We bring together world-class experts in medicine and research to uncover the answers we desperately need to change the tide of these life-shattering diseases. We can help make breakthroughs that ensure every patient gets the best possible treatment.
