Extract
Back to basics: without discovery science, there can be no clinical development or achievement reports Judy Ozkan
Much has been written about the role of basic science in cardiology and clinical medicine and the importance of bench-to-beside research. In the first of a two-part series, Cardiopulse looks at the current state of play and talks to three prominent figures about the attractions and applications of basic science.
Science and its potential for unlocking the secrets of the biosphere has always been a popular field of study. Jeremy Pearson PhD, FESC, FMedSci, Hon FRCP, Associate Medical Director (Research) at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), and Emeritus Professor of Vascular Biology at King’s College London, UK, was initially attracted to biology by the potential to make new discoveries. The application of basic science for medical benefit is, he suggests, an added impetus for those who want to follow a scientific career. ‘I think there is a continuum between discovery science and its application for patient benefit and although there is a long time-scale before something discovered in a lab can be developed into a viable treatment, the fact that it will ultimately have a useful application is inspiring for scientists’.
