Latest News: Local Lecturer Receives over £80,000 for Pioneering Research Project

Dr Jane McEneny, a Lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast, has received a Translational Research grant of £85,930 from national heart charity, Heart Research UK, to carry out an innovative test into coronary artery disease presence.

Coronary artery disease is caused by the build-up of fatty deposits within in the blood vessels of the heart, which as a consequence can lead to angina and heart attacks, and is a leading cause of death in Western societies. As well as the build-up of fatty deposits, evidence suggests that inflammation plays an important part in the disease.

Dr McEneny’s research will focus on one of the molecules, called serum amyloid A, that is released during inflammation and how it stops HDL the so-called ‘good cholesterol’, from removing excess cholesterol from the body. The overall aim of this research is to diagnose patients with coronary artery disease earlier on in the disease process, so they can receive the treatment they need as soon as possible.

Dr McEney, says: “I was delighted to have been awarded a grant from Heart Research UK. I really feel my Translational Research project will help bridge the gap between scientific research and patient care.”

Barbara Harpham, National Director at Heart Research UK, says: “Here at Heart Research UK, we fund research projects that have the quickest turnaround from ‘bench to bed’ from the ‘lab to the patient’. This project aims to achieve exactly that and we wish Dr McEneny and her research team all the best with this pioneering study.”