Launch of UKCMRI science vision and new building designs
19 June, 2010
A consortium of the UK’s most prestigious scientific and academic institutions has laid out its plans for the biggest centre for biomedical research and innovation in Europe - The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI).
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the four founding partners for the venture, along with the Cancer Research UK, University College London (UCL) and the Wellcome Trust. The consortium today released its vision for the institute alongside designs for the building, which will be located at St Pancras and Somers Town in the London Borough of Camden.
The vision was drafted by a panel of leading international scientists wanting to develop an institute capable of tackling the underlying causes of our most challenging health problems. They were advised by experts from Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, Harvard, the US National Institutes of Health and other world-renowned institutions, as well as biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry leaders.
The chairman of the Scientific Planning Committee – the Nobel Laureate and President of Rockefeller University, New York and incoming President of the Royal Society – Sir Paul Nurse, explained:
“UKCMRI aims to break down the traditional barriers between different research teams within institutes and between disciplines, encouraging biologists, clinician scientists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, and computer scientists to work together to answer shared questions. With 1,250 scientists working with an encompassing infrastructure, UKCMRI will provide the critical mass, support and unique environment to tackle difficult research questions.”
UKCMRI will initially build on the complementary skills and research interests of two of the founders' research institutes, the MRC National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (LRI), together with UCL scientists focusing on physics, computing, engineering, imaging and chemistry.
NIMR is renowned for its research in a diverse range of fields, including developmental and stem cell biology, structural biology, neuroscience, immunology and infectious disease. Meanwhile, LRI has an international reputation for basic cancer biology research, focusing on cell regulation and signalling, tumour and tissue biology, and genomic integrity.
Jim Smith, Director of the MRC NIMR and member of UKCMRI’s planning committee said:
“UKCMRI builds on NIMR’s interactive and interdisciplinary approach to science, and my colleagues are working hard together with LRI and UCL researchers, to design the best possible building for our research. We are really looking forward to the new opportunities for collaboration and interaction offered by UKCMRI.”
The institute’s scientific vigour will be maintained by the continuous renewal of research interests and skills – a strategy at the core of the UKCMRI vision. The institute’s research funding, its interactive and interdisciplinary environment, and its cutting-edge scientific infrastructure will allow scientists to tackle ambitious and long-term research questions. These researchers will develop a prominent international scientific profile during a 10-12 year stay at UKCMRI, after which the majority will move on to leadership positions in this country and elsewhere, thereby fulfilling UKCMRI's key role to propagate and disperse scientists of the highest calibre throughout the UK. The institute's cadre of established international research leaders will provide continuity and a science-led operational culture.
The building, planned by a team led by the architects HOK working closely with PLP Architecture, is designed to foster innovation by allowing collaboration between different academic disciplines. Click here to watch a computer generated fly-through of the site.
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council added:
“An inspirational building to house inspirational science; UKCMRI will combine the brightest minds in science with world class facilities. The result? A flourishing environment for internationally recognised research, which will provide for the next stage of medical breakthroughs.”
Key facts:
- 1500 staff, including 1250 scientists
- Annual budget of over Ł100m
- Initial investment of Ł600m (breakdown)
- 3.5 acres of land
- 79,000 square metres of building
Timeline:
Summer 2010 – planning application
Early 2011 – Construction starts
2015 – Construction ends
2015 – Science begins
Ends
