News
IDRM Researchers Raise Over £3,400 for British Heart Foundation in Go Red Challenge
As part of this year’s British Heart Foundation (BHF) Go Red Challenge—a UK-wide fundraising competition between Centres of Research Excellence (CREs)—a team of Oxford cardiovascular researchers, including several from the Institute of Developmental & Regenerative Medicine (IDRM), helped raise an incredible £3,438 for life-saving heart research.
In total, the Oxford BHF CRE team raised £3,438, contributing to the £15,400 raised nationally by CREs across the UK. Though narrowly beaten to first place by Leeds in the final hours, the Oxford team is proud to have placed second in this spirited campaign.
The IDRM’s own Susanna Cooper, Mary Strevens, and Ben Chapman played a key role in Oxford’s campaign, organising and supporting a series of well-attended and creative fundraising events throughout February and March.
Fundraising Highlights
From bake sales and film screenings to a sold-out wine and cheese night, the Oxford CRE team combined entertainment, science communication, and public engagement to great effect:
Bake sales at IDRM raised over £650 alone, thanks to generous donations and enthusiastic baking from the research community.
The team organised a pub quiz at James Street Tavern on the 19th of March. The event was a packed evening of science snapshots and trivia, hosted in central Oxford with quiz entry fees and raffles supporting the BHF.
Attended by 40 guests and hosted in collaboration with the Oxford Cheese Company, the Wine & Cheese Night at Vincent’s Club, 29 March, featured a welcome by Prof. David Paterson (Head of Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics), and a live CPR training session delivered by Ben Chapman.
At a Film Night on 5th March at Reuben College bar, the team screened The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as a way to mark International Women’s Day while raising donations for the cause.
Lastly, generous prizes were donated for the team's virtual raffle by local partners, including Proteintech, Nuffield Health, New Ground Coffee, Bruin Café, and Everybody Studio.
The campaign also served as a platform to promote the BHF’s RevivR app, a free, interactive tool that teaches CPR in just 15 minutes to empower more people with the knowledge to save lives.
“This campaign has been an amazing showcase of support for the BHF and the lifesaving research it funds,” said Susanna Cooper. “I’ve gained a new appreciation for the time and effort that goes into organising fundraising events. A massive thank you goes to everyone who donated.”
The IDRM team was part of a wider Oxford BHF CRE effort led by Philippa Major and Tracey Marr, supported by Alison Mackie, the BHF’s fundraising manager for Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. Other team members included Ambre Bertrand, Gintare Smagurauskaite, and Jenny Wang.