Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) professor, David Grieve has warned that the Covid-19 crisis has had a "catastrophic impact" on medical research charities.
Specialising in heart failure research, Prof Grieve added that a lack of government support could have a severe effect on several decades of work and called for the sector’s urgent support.
His research involves investigating how the heart responds to stresses which ultimately lead to heart failure.
He said: "Covid-19 has put people with heart and circulatory conditions at greater risk. Slowing down now would put even more lives at stake.
"Every year, thousands more families across Northern Ireland have to watch the people they love struggle with heart failure and it is vital that research into this devastating condition continues."
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Many other charities have noted that cancelled fundraising events and charity shop closures due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions have sparked a funding crisis also.
According to the British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland (BHFNI) there are more than 225,000 people with cardiovascular disease (CVD) across the county.
Along with other charities, the organisation is partaking in a campaign urging the UK government to protect life-saving medical research threatened by the pandemic, which Prof Grieve has also backed.
The proposal would see the government support charities' investment in UK research for the next three years.
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BHFNI Chief Executive Fearghal McKinney said the charity had already halved its research investment from £100m to £50m this year.
"Without government commitment to a Life Sciences-Charity Partnership Fund in the upcoming spending review, charities will be forced to make devastating cuts to their research which will be hugely damaging for patients and UK science.
"Science has taken centre stage recently with the discovery of a vaccine for Covid-19 and the vital role of research has never been clearer.
"Keeping our scientific edge is essential to enabling breakthroughs that save and improve lives."
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Other QUB scientists have spoken out this year on Covid’s effects across other medical funding needs, including diagnoses and treatments.
In April, a study that the university collaborated on stated that cancer has over 3.7m new diagnoses in Europe each year and over 1.9m deaths. They noted that deaths may increase significantly, directly as a result of the current crisis.
Health Minister Robin Swann also more recently said that cancer patients may die as a result of Covid-19 patients not being turned away from hospitals.
