Heart Science

Head - Professor Michael Schneider

heart The Heart Science Section is within the National Heart and Lung Institute's Cardiovascular Science subdivision: Heart Failure component. The Section is made up of three Groups (Molecular and Cellular Physiology/Pharmacology, Cell biology and Biochemistry, Regeneration and Repair). Within the three Groups are 12 Units, each headed by a Principal Investigator.

The Section focuses on understanding the fundamental biology of heart muscle and other cell components of the myocardium under normal conditions and in disease states. A key feature of the Section is that research is directed towards understanding how the function of the constituent cells of the heart leads to the clinical manifestations of disease and how new treatments may be discovered and tested. Members of the Section are on two sites (South Kensington and Harefield) where access to human material is available. There is a strong component of translational research within the Section by which is meant the application of basic science to understanding the pathophysiology of clinical disease states in man with the intention of improving diagnosis and treatment. The major, but not the only, clinical syndrome being addressed is heart failure in all its manifestations. The breadth of the research and variety of techniques available are substantial. Research extends from research into the function of molecules to research on the growth, death and regeneration of myocytes in the intact heart in vivo and study of human material in vitro.