A SCIENTIST from Cwmbran will scale Africa’s tallest mountain this year to help fight heart disease.

Tonia Thomas, 26, of Cwmbran, normally spends her days investigating heart disease as a researcher at the University of Oxford.

As part of a charity trek for British Heart Foundation (BHF) she will swap the laboratory for the slopes of Kilimanjaro.

Setting off last week, the researcher has already raised 91 per cent of her £3,000 goal — £2,731.53, — and is hoping to finish the route by Tuesday, September 27.

Although the researcher has always wanted to climb the formidable mountain, she believes it will be "the hardest thing (she) has ever done”.

“It will involve trekking for eight hours a day, every day, for a week (and) you also have to deal with big changes in temperature,” she said.

"As you go higher it goes from being incredibly hot, over 30 degrees, to well below freezing. On top of that there is the altitude, which will make it really challenging.”

“It will be like nothing I’ve done before or will ever do again. It's a once in a lifetime challenge,” she added.

Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, is the highest peak on the African continent and stands at 5,895m or 19,335ft. Known as the ‘roof of Africa’ it is almost 24 miles wide and 49 miles long.

The researcher has been motivated to take on the challenge due to her work at the British Heart Foundation’s Centre of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Oxford.

“If someone has a heart attack, the damage to the heart muscle is permanent but I am part of a team who are working to find a way for the heart to repair itself,” she said.

“There are cells in the heart which have the power to grow new heart tissue, but at the moment they remain dormant.

“If we can wake these cells up, it may ultimately lead to the development of a drug which could be given to heart attack survivors to mend the damage to their heart.”

Following the trek, the Cwmbran-born scientist will also spend a week volunteering at a hospital in Tanzania. Testing samples and preparing drugs.

She added: “Almost everyone will know someone who’s been affected by heart disease.

“By taking on this challenge and raising money for the BHF I can help fund the research which will uncover new treatments that can reduce the impact of this debilitating condition.”

To support Tonia’s fundraising, donate online at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Tonia-Thomas.