BHF Professor Barbara Casadei appointed Head of the National Heart and Lung Institute

Leading cardiologist and BHF Professor Barbara Casadei has been appointed as head of the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), Imperial College London and Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, starting in her new role from October.

Professor Casadei, whose pioneering work has helped improve our understanding of atrial fibrillation, is currently a BHF chair at the University of Oxford. She is an honorary consultant cardiologist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, where she leads the Cardiovascular Theme of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre. Professor Casadei is also Steering Committee Member of the Oxford BHF Centre for Research Excellence.

She leads a bench-to-bedside research programme, which spans from investigations in human tissue and cells to clinical trials. She is also the founder and co-chair of EuroHeart, a collaboration of national registries that supports the assessment and improvement of quality of cardiovascular care in Europe.

Professor Casadei was elected as the first female President of the European Society of Cardiology in 2018 and served as a Board member of the World Heart Federation (2020-22). She was elected Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences in 2013, and awarded the Mackenzie Medal, the highest honour of the British Cardiovascular Society, and the European Society of Cardiology Gold Medal in 2020.

Commenting on Professor Casadei's appointment, our chief scientific and medical officer Professor Bryan Williams said: "I would like to congratulate Barbara on her very well-deserved appointment as head of the NHLI. Her outstanding track record in cardiovascular research leaves her well placed to take on this vital leadership role at NHLI, which is at the forefront of research into heart disease."

Find out more about our research