NIHR-BHF Cardiovascular Partnership: Framework for COVID-19 Research
NIHR-BHF Cardiovascular Partnership: Framework for COVID-19 Research
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a research charity dedicated to playing a leading part in efforts to prevent and treat heart disease of all kinds. Established in 2006 and primarily funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds health and care research in the UK.
The NIHR-BHF Cardiovascular Partnership brings together experts funded by NIHR and BHF to work collaboratively to advance scientific research in the field of cardiovascular (heart and circulatory) diseases.
A new initiative has been announced by the Partnership, with endorsement from the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS), to specifically study COVID-19 and cardiovascular health. The Framework for COVID-19 Research will support the UK cardiovascular research community to carry out flagship COVID-19 research projects.
Heart and circulatory diseases are risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection and can seriously impact short and long-term patient outcomes. It is clear that there are important questions to answer regarding COVID-19 and cardiovascular health. Through the new framework, it is anticipated that funded projects will address key aspects such as:
Nature and importance of cardiovascular complications in COVID-19 infection, and how they could be prevented.
Understanding why patients with heart and circulatory diseases are at greater risk of adverse outcomes.
Short and longer-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for people with heart and circulatory diseases.
Mechanistic insights into individual responses to the COVID-19 infection and its effect on the function of the heart and the circulatory system.
The flagship projects selected through the framework will be put forward for national approval and NIHR/BHF will look to leaders of infrastructure to support the research that is approved within their centres. It is not mandatory for cardiovascular projects to be advanced through this framework, however, there are several advantages to this (such as a higher likelihood of it being approved via the NIHR COVID-19 research approval process and increased visibility via NIHR/BHF official communication channels).
Proposals are invited from the UK cardiovascular research community. Strong leadership will be required for each flagship project.
The budget to fund this initiative is provided by NIHR and BHF and has been repurposed and deployed to fund nationally prioritised COVID-19 research. There may also be opportunities for sourcing additional resources and funding if the projects put forward are deemed to be high quality and of national priority.
This scheme has no set application deadlines and proposals will be assessed on a weekly basis.
More information about this research funding opportunity and the application process is available on the RESEARCHconnect funding information platform. RESEARCHconnect provides up-to-the minute content, insight and analysis on research funding news and policy. To find out more about how RESEARCHconnect can keep you in the know, and subscription fees, contact us today.