Strategy and objectives

Strategy

The overarching strategy of the Leicester BHF Accelerator is to generate new knowledge of the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular disease. This will be achieved through:

1. The training and development of the next generation of cardiovascular researchers
2. Interdisciplinarity
3. Networking with local, national and international partners, as a centre of world class research in cardiovascular precision medicine

Objectives

1. To build on our existing strengths in cardiovascular genomics, biomarker discovery, cardiac imaging and the evaluation of phenotype directed cardiovascular interventions.
2. To capitalise on our ‘strategic localism’ to establish novel interdisciplinary approaches to the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and its complications. 
3. To recruit, train, and develop a cohort of early career research fellows who shall establish new interdisciplinary research collaborations.
4. To catalyse new interactions and networks between basic scientists, technical specialists, engineers, and clinical researchers, and develop a pipeline of researchers with MRC Key Skills who can compete for external research fellowships and become independent researchers.
5. To develop strategic partnerships with other regional, national, and international, centres of research excellence and with industry.

In the mid- to long-term we expect that this synthesis will deliver novel world-leading, cross-cutting, discovery science into disease mechanisms with translation into new diagnostic tests and effective, personalised, interventions that have significant impacts on the health of patients and communities at risk of cardiovascular disease.