The charity is to provide funding of £7.6m over six years, which will be used to establish a BHF Centre of Research Excellence at the university. It is hoped the centre will act as a “beacon” to attract young scientists and train them to take innovative approaches to find ways to prevent, diagnose and treat heart and circulatory disease. 

Professor John Mullins, director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh, said: "The funding will provide a major boost to our cutting-edge research. Research will not only focus on treatment but also on prevention and aim to understand why some people appear to be more inherently at risk than others.  

"This award will also assist us in training the next generation of outstanding cardiovascular researchers as well as capitalising on major national and international collaborations." 

The Centre will be one of four that will be established across the UK. 

Professor Weissberg, medical director at the BHF added: "Many of the advances in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease available today are the result of past research undertaken in the UK.  The BHF Centres of Research Excellence will ensure that the UK retains its world leading edge and that UK patients are the first to benefit. 

"This investment will create a new generation of world-class researchers to lead the fight against heart disease over the coming decades." 

To find out more about the Centres or watch a two-minute video of the researchers, visit: www.bhf.org.uk/researchexcellence