From the archive: The heartbeat of translational research

The British Heart Foundation is happy to help Translational Award applicants improve their bids

For scientists looking to move their early-stage cardiovascular technologies further down the commercialisation pipeline, the British Heart Foundation’s Translational Awards are an obvious port of call. There are two application deadlines for the scheme in the next nine months—on 13 September 2021 and 14 March 2022. However, due to the reduction of the British Heart Foundation’s income because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the charity will have less money available and competition is likely to be tougher than previously. The awards offer up to £750,000 over three years but, as the scheme guidance notes, “continued funding will be subject to the achievement of the relevant milestones”.

Milestones also came up when Ben Upton caught up with Natasa Levicar, a senior research adviser at the foundation, in July 2019—ill-defined project checkpoints being a frequent failing of bids. She also stressed the importance of discussing a potential bid with the charity before applying.