The Research and Innovation Directorate (RID) is pleased to inform the University community of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cardiovascular Grand Challenge 2026, a prestigious international funding opportunity that seeks to support a bold, multidisciplinary research programme capable of delivering transformational advances in cardiovascular health.

The Grand Challenge is designed to fund ambitious, collaborative research that addresses one of the most significant unmet challenges in cardiovascular disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or management. Proposals should demonstrate scientific excellence, innovation, and the potential to generate substantial global impact.

• Award Value: Up to £10 million
• Project Duration: Up to 5 years

Eligibility

Applications must be led by an eligible UK research institution.

Researchers at the University of Ghana are NOT eligible to apply as Principal Investigators (PIs). However, they are eligible to participate as international collaborators or Co-Investigators within UK-led consortia. The British Heart Foundation encourages international partnerships where collaborators contribute complementary expertise, unique research resources, specialised infrastructure, or access to diverse patient populations and datasets.

Potential Areas of Collaboration

Researchers with expertise in the following fields are encouraged to explore partnership opportunities with eligible UK institutions:

• Cardiovascular medicine and clinical research
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Genomics and precision medicine
• Bioinformatics and computational biology
• Population and public health
• Epidemiology
• Digital health technologies
• Biomedical engineering
• Health systems and implementation research
• Ethics, regulation, and governance of AI in healthcare

Deadline:    3 August 2026

For more information, kindly visit: https://www.bhf.org.uk/cardiovascular-grand-challenge

All interested persons are to communicate their intention to apply to the RID Grants Management Office for institutional guidance and support at  rid-grantsmgt@ug.edu.gh with lessuman-mills@ug.edu.gh or rocran@ug.edu.gh  in copy ahead of the deadline.