#LetsTalkLabs with Fozia Ahmed

Laboratory or lab-based research is often the first step in research that makes a difference. However, we don’t talk enough about it, so #LetsTalkLabs!

To spark more conversations about this aspect of research, we have partnered with research advisory groups BRAG and Voice Up, people from Greater Manchester and researchers on #LetsTalkLabs, an initiative funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF).

Fozia Ahmed is a cardiologist and researcher looking into treatments for heart failure. She is also the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Manchester BRC and Manchester CRF.

In this Q&A she tells us more about her work and meeting with Mon from Wai Yin Society, who is interested in understanding how laboratory research can make a difference to her community.

What motivates you to do research?

What motivates me is the opportunity to serve with purpose - what I mean by that is that being part of the discovery of new treatments to improve health and extend lives is a privilege. In 2024 I am prescribing medications to patients that we were researching in clinical trials in 2021. Thanks to research, our patients were among the first in the world to benefit from the new treatments that have radically changed the way we manage heart failure.

How can your work benefit people in Greater Manchester and across the UK?

Over one million people in the UK have heart failure, a condition where the heart can’t pump enough blood around the body. It makes people feel tired, makes breathing difficult and significantly affects quality of life.

My research focuses on discovering how we can improve the lives of people affected by heart failure. For example, building on research that had previously taken place in laboratories, I recently led a clinical trial in the UK which discovered that a diabetes and weight-loss drug could also reduce heart failure symptoms, opening up new treatment options for people affected by this condition.

How did you find having a chat with Mon?

Sometimes as a researcher and as a doctor we are singularly focused on discovering new treatments, finding new cures, or caring for patients, that we forget about the person behind the patient.

It was a huge privilege to spend time speaking with Mon, hearing about what motivates her to champion research within the community, to connect, and discuss a shared passion for reducing health inequalities.

Why are people important to your research?

I believe it’s important that we do research with people, not to them. People need to be able to have their say at all stages of research. By working with people from the beginning, we’re able to make sure that we’re asking the right questions and getting the answers that matter to patients. Listening to people with lived experience of managing disease helps us to set the direction of work in the future, as well as making sure we share our work and our findings with those who will benefit the most.

As researchers we hope that a collaborative approach will help to bridge the gap between the communities we serve and the research we conduct- with the aim of improving health outcomes for the many, not the few.

Find out more about how laboratory-based research makes a difference on Facebook and X. Visit our opportunities page to find out how you can have your say in research and benefit people in the future.