BHF research GAMES
The drug discovery journey
Aim
To communicate the drug discovery journey from bench (the lab) to bedside (patient benefit)
Researcher
Dr Alex Ainscough, Imperial College London
Research project summary
Researchers at Imperial College London have created an artificial lung blood vessel on a microchip. If successful, this microchip will allow researchers to test multiple drugs on cells taken from patients and help tailor the medical treatment to the individual.
The current search for drugs is complicated, long and expensive, with the majority failing at the start. The microchip will help bypass this.
Beat the biology
Aim
To hit the bad (red) antibodies as fast as you can to protect the heart from inflammation. Hitting the good (green) antibodies will weaken the body’s defences against infection!
Researcher
Dr Susanne Satler, Imperial College London
Research project summary
We have billions of different antibodies. Good antibodies are used by the immune system to catch bacteria and viruses. Bad antibodies can cause damage to organs such as the heart.
Researchers at Imperial College London are dedicated to identifying the antibodies that damage the heart.
Healing the human heart
Aim
To represent research into heart regeneration
Researcher
Dr Alex Swan, Imperial College London
Research project summary
Researchers at Imperial College London are exploring Popeye proteins, which are found in heart and muscle cells. If they don’t work properly, the heart struggles to beat and the muscle starts to waste away.
The pegs represent an area of heart regeneration research: electrical activity (blue), scarring (green), drugs (purple) and heart muscle cells (red). Land the ring on the correctly coloured peg and you have understood how to heal the human heart! The difficulty of landing a ring on a peg shows how hard it is for researchers to get it right.
Get the ball rolling on research
Aim
To demonstrate a British Heart Foundation researcher’s journey from coming up with an idea for a research project to ultimately saving a life.
'Get the Ball Rolling on Research' as demonstrated by Simon Gillespie, CEO of the British Heart Foundation
1. A researcher has an idea for a project and begins basic research in a lab
2. The researcher applies for initial funding from the BHF, the government or EU research programmes
3. Research continues for many years
5. BHF support helps attract private investment
6. Once the researcher receives investment, they are able to carry out clinical trials and further development
4. After basic research has been carried out, it is harder to get funding. This is known as the valley of death, where many potential drugs fail. The BHF awards researchers to help bridge this valley
7. The project is approved by regulators
8. The economy is boosted and lives are saved
The BHF research games have been exhibited at the Science Museum (Jan 2020), the Cheltenham Science Festival (Jun 2019) and The Great Exhibition Road Festival (Jun 2019).