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Recent successes

British Heart Foundation and Toolstation visit the National Heart and Lung Institute

We were delighted to welcome colleagues from the British Heart Foundation and their corporate partner Toolstation to Imperial National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial for a hands‑on look at cardiovascular research. Visits like this help connect supporters with the people and science their generosity enables.

Led by Dr. Alicia D'Souza and colleagues, the programme showcased the beauty and complexity of the human heart, from whole‑heart anatomy and living heart tissue physiology to single cell studies, AI‑enabled ECG analysis, and digital heart models. The session highlighted how fundamental discovery and technology come together to improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.

A special thank you to Elliot Awin for sharing his personal story, a powerful reminder of the real‑world impact research can have on patients and families. We are grateful to all NHLI colleagues who made the demonstrations possible.

Raising funds for the BHF at the Thames Path Ultra Challenge 2026

Ben Moss, a PhD candidate in the Manuel Mayr Lab at the NHLI, ran the 100 km Thames Path Ultra Challenge 2026 to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

He did so in memory of his father, Richard, who sadly died three years ago from sudden cardiac arrest. This loss has inspired Ben to support research that saves lives, and as a BHF‑funded researcher he understands the impact of every donation.

On Sunday, 13th September, Ben completed the challenge, raising over £1,000 for the BHF and finishing 36th out of more than 800 runners (bib number 1524). He still looked remarkably fresh and relaxed at the finish line.

Congratulations, Ben!

Exploring new frontiers in coronary heart disease research

Professor Rasha Al-Lamee, Clinical Professor of Cardiology at Imperial NHLI, has been profiled as one of Three Wise Women from the Imperial College Faculty of Medicine that give us the gift of wisdom for the festive period. Professor Al-Lamee discussed the ORBITA trials she leads, groundbreaking studies assessing the effect of stenting versus placebo procedures for patients with stable angina, a type of chest pain usually caused by coronary heart disease. She also reflected on the rewards of combining clinical practice with research, highlining opportunities to develop deep connection with patients and to teach and inspire the next generation of cardiologists to push research boundaries.

A warm welcome to Dr Alicia D'Souza

We are delighted to welcome Dr Alicia D’Souza, a basic cardiac electrophysiologist and BHF Intermediate Research Fellow. She was recently recruited to join Imperial National Heart and Lung Institute as a Reader in Cardiac Electrophysiology. Dr D'Souza's laboratory focuses on the electrical wiring system of the heart, with the goal of developing new therapies for conduction system disease.

Her move to Imperial was driven by the unique opportunity to perform electrophysiological measurements in human heart tissues from explanted donor and failing hearts available through NHLI’s human tissue programme, and by the opportunity to work with world‑leading researchers and clinician‑scientists within the Imperial BHF Centre of Excellence.

Heart Hive

Turning today's heart disease into tomorrow's heart health

Professor James Ware and his team established the Heart Hive, a platform that connects researchers and people with heart conditions to accelerate research and improve future care. Read more about the Heart Hive and how to join.

2026

Professor Allan Lawrie, Chair of Pulmonary Vascular Diseases at the National Heart and Lung Institute and member of the Imperial BHF CRE, has recently been awarded a £2.5 million BHF Programme Grant for the project "Capture of Real-world data from smartphones and wearables linked to healthcare records to support early diagnosis and future management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (MHC-PAH)".

Dr Arunashis Sau, an Academic Clinical Lecturer at the National Heart and Lung Institute and ECR representative at the BHF CRE, was recently awarded the seven-year BHF Clinical Future Leadership Fellowship. The £1.7 million award will fund the development of an AI‑based platform to predict, on a case‑by‑case basis, which treatments will most benefit patients with heart rhythm disorders. Learn more on Dr Sau's work here.

2025

Congratulations to Dr. Alicia D’Souza on securing £1.7 million to investigate whether gene therapy can repair problems with the heart’s electrical conduction system. This award comes from a European partnership between the British Heart Foundation, the Dutch Heart Foundation, the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research, and the Lefoulon-Delalande Foundation.

Professor Jamil Mayet is the inaugural recipient of the Graham‑Dixon Excellence Award in Translational Cardiovascular Clinical Research. Together with Dr Amit Kaura, he has been awarded funding to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions for patients presenting with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Funded by the Graham‑Dixon Charitable Trust, the Award provides up to £200,000 for novel projects that address clinical cardiovascular research challenges with clear potential for significant impact. Learn more on Professor Mayet's project here.

Professor James Ware has been awarded the Genomics and Precision Medicine Medal of Honor by the American Heart Association for his work on understanding the genetics of cardiovascular disease to improve diagnosis and treatment. Congratulations to Professor Ware. Read more about his achievement here.

Dr Pamela Swiatlowska is a British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence Fellow at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London. Dr Swiatlowska specialises in cardiovascular mechanobiology that uses cross-disciplinary approaches to understand how physical forces and mechanical properties of the environment shape cellular responses. Her research, contribution to the scientific community, and involvement in various public engagement activities were recognised by the British Society for Cell Biology, which awarded her the 2025 Postdoctoral Researcher Medal Winner.

2024

Congratulations to Professor Declan O’Regan who has been awarded the first BHF Chair of Cardiovascular AI. This award from British Heart Foundation will support a research programme developing new AI‑based approaches to understand how ageing affects the heart, what drives the diversity of cardiovascular disease in patients, and how genes and environmental factors influence cardiac function. Learn more about the project here.

Dr Ahran Arnold, a Clinical Associate Professor of Cardiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, has received a 2024 Heart Research UK Translational Research Project Grant for “Development and Validation of Automated Capture Confirmation Tools for Conduction System Pacing”.