Daniel Towie, a third-year medical student, has been awarded a highly competitive scholarship from Heart Research UK. The scholarships, worth £7,000 each, were awarded to seven medical students from different regions of the UK planning to undertake a research project relating to cardiovascular disease. Daniel was chosen to represent Bristol University, in competition with other students in the region, and is the first Bristol student to be awarded one of the scholarships. 

Daniel will study the effect of homocysteine (a type of amino acid) on isolated heart cells. Elevated blood levels of homocysteine may be a risk factor for heart disease, but its effects on heart muscle function are poorly understood: Daniel will investigate the possibility that homocysteine increases the production of oxygen free radicals, which are known to damage the heart. He will undertake the work in the laboratory of Professor Saadeh Suleiman at the Bristol Heart Institute.

The scholarship includes travel money to present work at a scientific conference. Daniel has already, and exceptionally for an undergraduate, presented a case study at the European Federation of International Medicine meeting in Lisbon in May, 2007, as well as being awarded an Erasmus exchange placement in Grenoble.