£250,000 boost for heart research

The British Heart Foundation awards to Leeds University staff are part of a £5m boost for heart research in the UK by the charity.

Researcher Trevor Batten has been handed more than £150,000 for work examining the impact of the hormone oestrogen. Studies suggest it could have a protective impact but this is lost in post-menopausal women who are more vulnerable to heart disease.

A second grant of nearly £100,000 will go to Sarah Calaghan and colleague William Fuller, from Dundee University, to examine how sensors on the surface of the heart are disrupted in people with heart disease.

Prof Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the charity, said: “These latest grants are great examples of our world-leading research.”