At the heart of life-changing science
The Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute is a thriving community of scientists and clinicians, the largest concentration of its kind in Europe, focused on tackling the world's biggest killers.
Three years ago today, a striking new building opened on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus that rapidly became the envy of many who worked nearby.
The building, with its bronze cladding and unusual shape – from above, it is intended to resemble a pair of lungs – sits picturesquely behind a duck pond, but, more importantly, beside Royal Papworth Hospital, a world leader in treatment of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
The Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute
The Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute
This is the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute, a partnership between the University and two NHS hospital trusts - Royal Papworth Hospital and Cambridge University Hospitals. It houses the largest concentration of scientists and clinicians in heart and lung medicine in Europe.
The building was named in recognition of the £16 million donation from Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr Victor Dahdaleh, which, along with £30 million from the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, £10 million from the British Heart Foundation and additional funding from the Wolfson Foundation, Royal Papworth Hospital Charity and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, made the building possible.
Signage showing the University of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital partnership
Signage showing the University of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital partnership
The institute’s Director is Professor Charlotte Summers, who specialises in intensive care medicine at nearby Addenbrooke’s Hospital, and whose own research looks into the mechanisms underlying respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This condition causes a devastating failure to deliver oxygen to the body, and although it has been recognised for more than 50 years now, there has been little improvement in mortality.
Summers describes the institute as a multidisciplinary, multi-organisational institute that “aims to improve cardiovascular and lung health for everyone, no matter where they live. I think that last bit is important because we are very much focused on a global perspective.”
There are 450 staff at the institute from the University and NHS. They are “focused on prevention, diagnosis and early treatment, if at all possible – rather than disease – because prevention is always better than disease”.
Their research covers everything from discovery science at the cellular and sub-cellular scale to patient studies at its clinical research facility right through to population scale data science.
“We're using all of that ability to understand complicated problems. I think that’s our USP,” says Summers. “You can have a brilliant genetics institute or cell biology institute or data science institute, but none of these alone will make a substantial impact on cardiovascular or lung health, because you need all of them. We have University researchers and clinical staff from Papworth and Addenbrooke’s, working with industry and the charitable sector. That's what makes us stronger and different.”
Having these different disciplines sitting alongside each other means that discovery scientists get to understand better the clinical contexts in which they're working, she says.
“You might know about cardiovascular disease in an abstract or theoretical way, but that's very different to hearing from someone who saw a patient in clinic yesterday.”
The institute has a monthly seminar series in which this interaction between disciplines is central. There are always two speakers, one internal, one external, always talking about different types of science, often one that is more clinical, one more fundamental, for example.
Interior shot of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute
Interior shot of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute
“We try and make sure that everybody is exposed to something they might not have seen before,” Summers says. “We like to make everyone a bit uncomfortable.”
This approach is paying off. In 2024, its researchers published more than 250 individual peer-reviewed research papers. Some of these have resulted in changes to clinical practice guidance, meaning they are having an impact on the care of patients. For example, the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit’s research has impacted the revision of the European Society of Cardiology guidelines on the use of genetic risk scores for predicting cardiovascular disease, while Professor Andres Floto’s research has led to innovations aiming to reduce ‘flare-ups’ in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Over the coming years, Summers wants to see the institute increase the number of its collaborations with industry and biotech companies, creating more spinouts and engaging with major pharmaceutical companies.
“It's great us doing science, because science is interesting, but the point of the building is to improve life for patients and populations, and to do that we need to ensure our innovations and discoveries are translated.”
She is grateful to Dr Dahdaleh for his continued support. The institute would not exist without his gift to the University, but since its launch, he has provided a further £4 million towards a newly created Endowment Fund at the institute and £1 million to establish an endowed PhD studentship at Trinity College for a student working within the institute.
Dr Victor Dahdaleh
Dr Victor Dahdaleh
"By investing in research and nurturing the next generation of scientists, we can improve cardiovascular and lung health worldwide,” Dahdaleh said when making this latest gift, adding that the studentship at Trinity College "will be crucial in fostering emerging talent and contributing to the Institute's research ecosystem."
Although Summers says she tries hard not to be proud about things, she admits that she couldn’t help feeling a touch of pride when she saw an early draft of the institute’s impact report and read a quote from a PhD student who described it as a great place to work, with a culture where she felt people could thrive.
“The building is really cool because it is very open, so it is very easy to talk to other people who are working in nearby labs,” PhD student Angela Balistrieri told the report’s author. “Everyone is super helpful and happy to share their knowledge.”
PhD student Angela Balistrieri speaking to a co-worker
PhD student Angela Balistrieri speaking to a co-worker
Summers adds: “It’s that cross fertilisation, understanding your piece of the jigsaw, and finding somebody else who has a different piece – the different types of scientists and researchers in the building that are so open to working with people who are different to them – that’s what makes this place special!”
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Philanthropic support enables Cambridge researchers to tackle some of the world’s most urgent health challenges. To learn more about supporting cardiovascular and lung health and research at Cambridge, please contact Alana Bradford, Associate Director, Cambridge University Health Partners.
Making clinical trials more accessible
Embedded within the Heart & Lung Research Institute is a facility that is transforming how clinical trials are carried out – and in particular, how they can be made more accessible.
In the two years since the Clinical Research Facility opened, around 40 studies have begun there, and some already concluded. The emphasis is on early phase clinical trials where investigators are looking to test therapies for the first time in patients.
Clinical trials typically require patients to attend the clinic for regular assessments. This can be challenging for patients who live further away and may have to take time off work or where there are cost implications.
To get around this, Dr Mark Toshner, Associate Professor in Respiratory Medicine at the University and a consultant at Royal Papworth Hospital, is using digital tools to monitor participants remotely.
Participants have the option of apps and a smartwatch, or monitors implanted under the skin or even directly inside the chest in the pulmonary artery (the artery that takes blood to the lungs). This is done in a procedure that takes just 15 extra minutes during a planned procedure called a right heart catheter.
“We can basically offer patients a tailor-made package of different ways of assessing and following them up in the community that prevents them having to come into the hospital frequently.”
His team has already run three randomised control trials using this technology, with patients coming from as far away as Plymouth to take part. “It means that trials have more equitable access for the patients.”
The technology will not be for everyone, he admits. Through public and patient engagement he has found that while four out of five people are accepting of and enthusiastic about the technology, one in five – a sizeable minority – do not want to use it.
“As we go forward, we'll be using a suite of different ways to enrol in trials. That's the most inclusive way of doing it. In addition to traditional and telephone appointments for example, we're looking at whether we’ll be able to get the same quality of data from simpler means like the patient’s phone or smartwatch.”
In the near future, Toshner believes these technologies will be part of standard clinical care, feeding back data to patients themselves, their consultants or GPs. This will present its own challenges, though, cautions Toshner.
“At the moment, we're used to getting data once every few months. What do you do if that data is accumulating constantly in the background? How do we monitor it and use it to the best of its capability? We should set an aspiration that this technology works for the patient and in a way that adds value and not burden to healthcare systems.”
New treatments for inherited diseases
Dr Wei Li typifies the ethos of the Heart and Lung Research Institute. Although she is working in fundamental science, she is described by Professor Summers as “one of the institute’s most translated researchers” because of her history of spinouts and collaborations with industry.
Li, a British Heart Foundation Basic Science Research Fellow, is interested in a particular protein known as endoglin. It plays a vital role in a number of biological processes, so it’s little wonder that when it goes wrong it can lead to serious diseases. These include hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia and pulmonary arterial hypertension, both of which are inherited genetic disorders that affect the blood vessels. There are currently no cures and few treatment options for these diseases.
“Any loss of function or misfunction of this protein can cause changes to the blood vessel lining,” she says. “Clearly it's a very important protein, but we don't fully understand its function. That's what I'm trying to figure out.”
She is currently collaborating with Apollo Therapeutics to find a new way to tackle these diseases. “We’re trying to develop novel antibodies that can modify the function that is lost or changed in endoglin.”
Li previously co-founded a spinout company with Professor Nick Morrell, Interim Director of the institute when it launched. This company, Morphogen-IX, was subsequently acquired by Centessa Pharmaceuticals. She hopes to set up a second spinout company to target a family of around 30 signalling molecules – tiny messengers that help cells communicate with each other – that malfunction in vascular diseases.
Li moved to the institute from one of the oldest buildings on the campus, so enjoys the modernity of the new facilities. But it’s being next door to clinical scientists from Royal Papworth and Addenbrooke’s Hospitals that she values most.
“We’re all on the same floor, so we often bump into each other along the corridor and exchange ideas, which is so useful. I think this co-location is really, really important. Plus, there’s all the nice surroundings of the institute!”
Breaking down barriers to treatment
Dr Jonathan Fuld is a consultant at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, where he specialises in respiratory problems, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A Bye-Fellow of Girton College, he was last year appointed National Clinical Director for Respiratory Diseases in the NHS.
COPD is a long-term lung condition, often caused by smoking or exposure to harmful pollutants, that makes it difficult to breathe due to inflammation and blockages in the lungs. It has a profound effect on people’s lives and their ability to work and to do the things most of us take for granted.
One of the main treatments for the condition is pulmonary rehabilitation, an exercise and educational programme carried out in groups twice a week over a six-week period. Around 25,000 people complete the course nationally every year.
“Pulmonary rehabilitation allows people to feel less breathless because they've become stronger, they’re more able to exercise and their fitness has improved,” explains Fuld. “They also get to understand their breathlessness better and feel safer managing it, feel more confident in how it responds to them doing activity. The classes also mean patients get to meet people in a similar situation and work through problems with them.”
Despite the treatment’s proven benefits, many patients – particularly among global majority as well as deprived communities– choose not to participate. To understand why, Fuld is leading the UPTURN Study, funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research.
Some of barriers may be difficult to address, such as getting to and from the sessions, potentially having to take time off work, but others may be easier to solve, he says. There are often misunderstandings of what pulmonary rehabilitation entails, for example.
“They haven't really been helped to understand why it would benefit them. People need to know what is going to happen. They need to know they'll feel comfortable and safe during the sessions.”
In South Asian communities, says Fuld, decision-making more often is collective, “so it really matters what their family and peers think. It matters to them how their community views treatments. It matters to people who will be in the group, for example that they'll feel safe and welcome, particularly if they’re a woman.”
Working in particular with Bangladeshi and Black African and Caribbean communities, alongside Asthma + Lung UK, his team is designing an approach to help people overcome barriers “in the most inclusive way as possible, that speaks to them and helps them feel that it is for someone like them. We need to make sure the work we’re doing doesn’t inadvertently widen health inequalities.”
Next year brings a large, randomised trial, running across sites in England, to see if the developed approach is effective.
Data science at a population level
Professor Angela Wood is a health data scientist dedicated to uncovering insights from electronic health records to improve public health. She believes the UK is uniquely positioned to lead in this area.
“This is the only country in the world where we have whole population data at this scale. And importantly, it covers all ethnicities, all ages, all geographical areas of the country.”
Working with such extensive data brings significant challenges. “This is the first time data of this magnitude has been used at scale for research. Traditional analytical approaches simply don’t work. To process records from 57 million people in a way that is both technically feasible and environmentally sustainable, we need to rethink how we structure, curate, and analyse the data.”
Wood is Associate Director of the British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre, part of Health Data Research UK. Through NHS England’s Secure Data Environment, her team has access to a wide range of datasets — including primary care records, hospital statistics, heart disease registries, and Covid-19 datasets — to investigate the health impacts of the Covid pandemic. Their research focuses on understanding how Covid-19 has affected cardiovascular disease and related conditions such as obesity. A key priority is studying population groups historically underrepresented in data-driven research, including pregnant women and children.
Wood emphasises the importance of protecting privacy and maintaining public trust. That’s why she and her team regularly meet with public and patient groups to discuss research plans and findings, listen to their concerns, and ensure they are “asking the right kind of questions that matter”.
The UK government and Wellcome recently announced a £600 million partnership to create a health data research service that aims to ‘simplify secure access to health data and speed up research to better understand ill health, opening opportunities to develop prevention, diagnosis and treatment tools for diseases’. It will be based at the Wellcome Genome Campus, just a 15-minute drive from the Heart & Lung Research Institute. Wood hopes that Cambridge can play a key role in this initiative.
“This is a transformative time for population-wide health data. Used responsibly, the data offers immense potential for public good,” she says.
“Data science may not sound thrilling, but it's exciting and meaningful when the results have real impact on human life. We've built a talented community of people willing to collaborate together to reach this ambition. I'm really proud of what we have already achieved and what lies ahead.”
For Wood, moving into the multidisciplinary environment of the institute has been extremely helpful. “What I appreciate most about being at the Heart & Lung Research Institute is the chance to connect daily with clinicians — especially cardiologists — who help ensure our work addresses real-world clinical and public health priorities.”
Improving blood donation
As Director of the NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Donor Health and Behaviour, Professor Emanuele Di Angelantonio is interested in how we can improve the efficiency and safety of blood donation.
“We’re addressing really pragmatic question about how often and how much you should donate and how we can prevent any side effects from blood donation,” he says.
Di Angelantonio works in collaboration with the NHS Blood and Transplant Service (NHSBT). “Given the very close connection we have, much of our work has already been either implemented or is soon to be implemented in the Blood Service in England.”
Recently, his work has looked at several aspects of blood donation, including how to prevent faintings among donors. For this, he led a trial involving 1.4 million UK donors to test four different types of intervention and see whether the current approach – a glass of water and a small amount of exercise – could be improved by using other approaches adopted by other blood services. It turned out that the existing approach, which has been around for decades, was the most appropriate and cost effective.
Another aspect of his work has been looking at how to assess a donor’s haemoglobin levels to determine whether they are suitable for donation. The current approach involves seeing how quickly a drop of blood sinks in copper sulphate solution. Di Angelantonio’s work suggests that screening the blood after donation is more effective. As a result, NHSBT is now running a feasibility study to test how this approach may be implemented.
“It could be more expensive,” he admits, “but at the same time it's safer for donors. It will allow the blood donation service to be much more flexible in the way they modulate the time between donations [for an individual donor], because you have a much more precise measurement of haemoglobin levels.”
The third piece of work, in collaboration with Dr Nicholas Gleadall from the Department of Haematology, has helped inform NHSBT’s genotyping strategy for recipients of frequent blood transfusion, for example those with sickle cell disease or other blood disorders – that is, using genetic information to better match donors and recipients. He is interested in whether it’s possible to develop and implement a platform that will allow genotyping of blood donors, “so we can move to much more personalised donation and transfusion”.
Being in the Heart & Lung Research Institute provides “a huge opportunity to collaborate with people who have different skills, different interests,” he says. “The multidisciplinary aspect is really key for us, to be able to leverage different specialties, different approaches, but also to contribute to other people’s research by sharing our data and our expertise”.
Published 11 July 2025
