Medical Research Council

Welcome to our 24 newly-appointed Council members! We’re looking forward to working with all of you across UKRI. AHRC: Seetha Kumar Tim Gardam Anita Bhalla Emma Kane BBSRC: James Briscoe EPSRC: Dr Dave Smith Simon King Professor Ian White ESRC: Andrew Dilnot Professor David Halpern Professor Cecilia Wong MRC: Professor Nadeem Sarwar Professor Nancy Rothwell Professor Sir Mark Caulfield NERC: Professor Peter Cox Professor Richard Bardgett Nick Folland Research England: Dr Tony Raven Professor Dina Kiwan Professor Dame Julia Buckingham STFC: Professor Jayne Lawrence Professor Dave Charlton Professor Andrew Pontzen Professor Stan Bentvelsen Our thanks also go to our outgoing Council members for their service.

🚨 Exciting funding opportunity to use AstraZeneca’s world-leading facilities for high throughput screening. This is a unique opportunity for academic drug discovery projects allowing access to:   ➡️ over two million molecules in AstraZeneca’s compound library ➡️ advanced compound management facilities ➡️ advanced screening robotics ➡️ multiple state-of-the-art assay platform technologies This opportunity is open to all targets and disease areas. In this round, we would also like to encourage applications related to pain or women’s health (including conditions related to metabolic disorders). More and to apply: https://lnkd.in/eaSbFxum 📅 Deadline 9 September

Exciting news! The new Functional Genomics Screening Lab (FGSL) is officially open 👏 The FGSL is part of the wider MRC-led UK Human Functional Genomics Initiative. It will provide UK researchers with access to large-scale biological and technological tools to support research that aims to speed up drug discovery and diagnostics for chronic diseases. Our Executive Chair Prof. Patrick Chinnery said: “The UK's new Functional Genomics Screening Laboratory marks a key milestone in enhancing the national ecosystem needed to improve our understanding of how genetic variance impacts health and disease. "The insights gained from the laboratory, along with the broader efforts of the MRC-led UK human functional genomics initiative, will pave the way for the next generation of diagnostics and targeted treatments to improve health outcomes. "I encourage researchers to collaborate with the new lab, which the MRC is pleased to fund and support.”

As Ruth Plummer hands over the reins as Chair of the MRC Experimental Medicine Panel, we wanted to take a moment to highlight the panel's achievements under her leadership. Launched in 2020, the panel was born from a visionary concept: to fund mechanistic-testing experimental studies that directly involve patients, accelerating the translation of scientific research into real-world treatments and interventions. Ruth’s dedication to this vision, alongside colleagues at the MRC, our research community and panel members, has led to the successful funding of high-quality experimental research projects across the UK. Key accomplishments so far include: 👉 Developing a successful funding model where applicants could request the appropriate funding for their projects, leading to a range of studies funded, from smaller projects to those exceeding £1 million. 👉 Supporting the next generation of clinical academics by actively encouraging applicants to involve a junior project lead as a co-applicant and supporting the MRC’s observer and associate members schemes. We’re very grateful to Ruth, who has chaired the panel since its inception, for her significant contributions, and take this opportunity to welcome Charlotte Summers as the new Experimental Medicine Panel Chair. We look forward to working with you! Read Ruth’s blog for her personal reflections: https://lnkd.in/exj7VhAd

New LMB spinout TRIMTECH Therapeutics Limited, co-founded by Leo James & William A McEwan, will leverage the unique properties of the protein TRIM21 to develop targeted protein degraders to treat neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e2PJ8Gti #LMBNews #drugdiscovery #therapeutics #spinout #neurodegeneration

Registration is now open for the 2025 Genomics England Research Summit! Held on 17 June at the Business Design Centre in London, this year’s agenda will explore groundbreaking research, technologies, and collaborations driving advances in genomic medicine. Spaces are limited so secure your spot now, via this link: https://lnkd.in/eN3WA9rJ #GERS2025

Fantastic work by researchers at Cambridge👏 And a great example of how MRC investment in medical imaging infrastructure is supporting research to improve diagnosis.

We’re pleased to see this new publication. The findings in this paper set a benchmark for evaluating changes to research culture and practices under the MRC policy on inclusive research design.

Are you a third-or fourth-year MRC-funded PhD student interested in learning about science policy? In partnership with the Academy of Medical Sciences, we run a 12 week policy internship scheme that offers first-hand experience of the medical science policy environment. The 2025 applications are now open: https://lnkd.in/eNrYvPMh Read the experiences of past interns Dr Clare MacRae and Laura Bailey for why you should apply👇

Are you a member of the Genomics England Research Network? Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to showcase your research at the 2025 Genomics England Research Summit. The deadline for abstract submissions closes Thursday 20 March 2025 🔬 Submit here: https://ow.ly/NvKk50Vb3GH #GERS2025