Queen’s prize for heart team

Edinburgh has received a prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize for the fourth time.

The award, presented to Professor David Newby in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, was made in recognition of 30 years of research into cardiovascular disease.

The University first won the award in 1996 for its music in the community course.

It also won in 2005 for a virtual online hospital initiative and in 2013 for a distance learning course for surgical trainees.

Top awards

The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for higher and further education celebrate work that demonstrates practical benefit to people, in the UK and beyond.

The awards are made every two years and represent the highest form of national recognition open to a UK academic or vocational institution.

The University’s British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science has, over the past 30 years, been at the forefront of efforts to improve prevention and diagnosis of heart disease.

Global challenge

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the commonest cause of death across the world, claiming over 7m lives each year.

It is regarded as among the biggest challenges for medicine today.

The team has published more than 100 research studies in leading academic journals and is globally recognised as a hub for innovative research that has an impact on clinical treatment.

Scientists at the centre have led or contributed to work that has:

• Proven the link between air pollution and cardiovascular disease
• Showed that CT scans can cut risk of subsequent heart attacks by half
• Evaluated the latest generation of diagnostic tests for angina and heart disease
• Developed of a new clinical risk score - GRACE - now adopted in 55 countries
• Established treatments to prevent recurrent heart attacks.

We are delighted to accept this prestigious honour, which recognises the vital contribution that universities can make to improving health and wellbeing around the world. It celebrates Edinburgh’s long-standing tradition of innovative medical research and will act as a real incentive for us to continue this great work.