UofG part of new BHF-funded consortium to establish the next generation of cardiovascular scientists
Published: 23 March 2026
The University of Glasgow will benefit from a share of £30 million, awarded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to seven university-led consortia to deliver the latest round of its 4 year PhD programme. The funding will support 141 students across the seven consortia to begin their 4-year PhDs between 2026 and 2029
The University of Glasgow will benefit from a share of £30 million, awarded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to seven university-led consortia to deliver the latest round of its 4 year PhD programme. The funding will support 141 students across the seven consortia to begin their 4-year PhDs between 2026 and 2029.
The University of Glasgow will join a consortium with the University of Edinburgh, with Professors Christian Delles, Lorraine Work and Godfrey Smith as Co-Directors.
It is the first time funding for the charity’s four-year PhD programme has been awarded to a consortia of universities, which include collaborations with industry.
The seven successful applications have leveraged an additional £22.6m through university and industry partnerships, supporting an extra 109 PhD studentships.
This brings the total number of students supported by the scheme to 250, backed by a total investment worth nearly £51m.
This latest round of funding represents one of the largest commitments the BHF has ever made to PhD programmes. It embodies a refreshed model that unites leading expertise across cardiovascular research, through incorporating traditional bench based biomedical sciences with data science, engineering and a range of other disciplines.
Professor Christian Delles, Head of the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health at the University of Glasgow and Consortium Co-Director, said: “We are excited about this award, which will allow us to offer first-class research training to our students through collaboration between cardiovascular scientists and engineers at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“We are grateful to the British Heart Foundation for generously investing in a next generation of scientists and for supporting our world-leading research-intensive universities."
The programme in Edinburgh and Glasgow focusses on the role of blood vessels in the development heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular disease. It will build a team of PhD students who will be trained to the highest standards within their immediate research groups and through network activities such as structured teaching and annual consortium meetings.
The University of Glasgow, along with the other institutions, will now begin recruiting PhD students to take up these funded positions from the 2026/27 academic year.
Funding has also been awarded to other consortia led by the University of Cambridge, the University of Manchester, King’s College London, Imperial College London, the University of Oxford, the UK Dementia Research Institute (which will be hosted by University College London). In addition the University of Glasgow, the University of Liverpool, the University of Bristol and the University of Leicester join as consortia partners.
They are further strengthened by the involvement of collaborators across a range of sectors - from pharmaceutical giants like AstraZeneca and NovoNordisk, to major technology companies like Siemens Healthineers and Medtronic. Through these partnerships, students will benefit from access to cutting edge tools and datasets, and real world translational opportunities.
This major investment is a central part of the BHF’s new strategy to accelerate scientific discovery and improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart and circulatory diseases. By equipping early career researchers with the skills and multidisciplinary environment they need to thrive, and by strengthening collaboration across sectors, the BHF aims to help deliver breakthroughs at a pace not previously possible.
Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 23 March 2026