Every team member taking part in this year’s Chariots of Fire race on Sunday 20 September will be helping the British Heart Foundation (BHF) fund pioneering cardiovascular research in Cambridge.
At the Heart and Lung Research Institute (HLRI) in the city, researchers are searching for discoveries that could lead to better treatments and longer, healthier lives for millions of people affected by heart disease.
According to the World Health Organisation, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally.
In the UK, there are around 170,000 each year – one death every three minutes, accounting for more than a quarter of all deaths nationwide according to the BHF.
Professor Murray Clark is a group leader at the HLRI, investigating one of the earliest stages of heart disease: inflammation within blood vessels. Thanks to BHF funding of his Intermediate Fellowship, Senior Fellowship and Programme Grant, he was able to set up a group and focus on the research.
Inflammation is normally one of the body’s natural defence mechanisms. When we cut ourselves or suffer an injury, immune cells rush in to repair the damage, leaving once the job is done. But in blood vessels, those cells can sometimes remain, causing long-term or chronic inflammation that contributes to cardiovascular disease.
“We’re trying to understand why that inflammation doesn’t resolve,” says Murray. “Why immune cells remain in the vessel wall and continue to cause damage.”
His team studies how cells communicate with one another, examining the complex signals that switch inflammation on and off. The work takes place at the molecular level, long before any treatment reaches a patient, but these early discoveries are essential foundations for future breakthroughs.
“I consider myself a discovery scientist,” Murray explains. “We do very early basic research to understand how molecules interact and cells function differently.”
This type of research has already led to major advances in cardiovascular medicine, helping scientists identify new ways to reduce heart attacks and improve patient outcomes.
Dr Xuan Li, also based at HLRI, is exploring new possibilities for treating heart disease.
A BHF-supported Senior Research Fellow, Xuan is investigating the “cytoskeleton” within heart cells, the internal scaffold that helps cells maintain their shape and function.
“It’s like the scaffold of a building,” he explains. “We’re trying to understand how changes to that scaffold can influence how the heart pumps blood.”
Current treatments often aim to make the heart work harder. Xuan’s research is asking a different question: could improving the way heart cells function help the heart work more efficiently?
“If you’re working hard all the time, eventually you become exhausted,” he says. “We’re exploring if we can help the heart function better without constantly demanding more energy.”
The work is complex, but the ambition is simple: improve quality of life for patients living with heart failure.
Like Murray, Xuan is keen to highlight the role charitable funding plays in making these discoveries possible.
“Our studies help to build the foundation for future treatments. Without BHF support, this work wouldn’t happen.”
The HLRI brings cardiovascular and respiratory researchers under one roof to support collaboration and innovation.
“People who used to be spread across Cambridge are now working side by side, enabling much better daily communication,” says Murray. “It’s been incredibly productive.”
Every fundraising effort helps support scientists to explore new ideas and lay the groundwork for the next generation of treatments.
For Murray, the connection between the race, Cambridge and cardiovascular research makes perfect sense.
“We’re bringing together two great Cambridge institutions,” he says. “The charity of choice this year is the British Heart Foundation, and ultimately that support helps drive research and better patient outcomes here in Cambridge as well as elsewhere.”
When runners cross the finish line this September, they won’t just be completing a race. They’ll be helping to fuel discoveries that could transform lives for years to come.
To enter a team click here.
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