About Us
The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) is a research institute dedicated to the understanding of important biological processes at the levels of atoms, molecules, cells and organisms. In doing so, we provide knowledge needed to solve key problems in human health.
Our scientists tackle fundamental, often difficult and long-term research problems. The LMB has made revolutionary contributions to science, such as pioneering X-ray crystallography and electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine protein structures, the sequencing of DNA and the development of monoclonal antibodies. Twelve Nobel Prizes have been awarded for work carried out by LMB scientists.
The LMB also promotes the application and exploitation of our research findings, both by collaboration with existing companies and the founding of new ones, helping to advance medical research and the translation and application of knowledge.
The LMB provides an unsurpassed environment for both young and established researchers, with state-of-the-art facilities and a unique scientific culture. The LMB has always been very diverse, with a truly international outlook. We currently employ men and women from over 50 countries, and LMB alumni work in research organisations across the world.
Insight on Research
Dual biological clocks discovered in intertidal crustaceans

Collaborative study between Michael Hastings’s group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division and David Wilcockson at Aberystwyth University reveals that crustaceans have two distinct cerebral clocks – one to track days and one for tides – which operate in parallel using overlapping genetic components.
Uncovering the hidden complexity behind the brain’s master clock

Study of body clock proteins led by Nicola Smyllie in Michael Hastings’s group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division, reveals that PER and CRY, key body clock proteins, act more independently than previously thought, challenging long-held understanding of our body’s circadian rhythms.
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Latest News
Tanmay Bharat awarded EMBO Gold Medal
Tanmay Bharat, Group Leader in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, received EMBO’s Gold Medal in recognition of his work on prokaryotic surface molecules. […]
Leo James, Greg Jefferis and Marta Zlatic elected to Royal Society
Leo James, PNAC Division, Greg Jefferis and Marta Zlatic, both Neurobiology Division, are amongst the 85 new Fellows elected to the Royal Society. […]
Latest Publications
- Extending the reach of single-particle cryoEM.
Patwardhan, A., Henderson, R., Russo, CJ.
Curr Opin Struct Biol 92: 103005. (3rd June 2025) - Reversible molecular simulation for training classical and machine-learning force fields.
Greener, JG.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122(22): e2426058122. (3rd June 2025) - MDA5 variants trade antiviral activity for protection from autoimmune disease.
Wallace, C., Singh, R., Modis, Y.
BMC Med Genomics 18(1): 101. (2nd June 2025) - Curcumin-mediated NRF2 induction limits inflammatory damage in, preclinical models of cystic fibrosis.
Leon-Icaza, SA., et al.
Biomed Pharmacother 186: 117957. (31st May 2025) - Molecular basis of autoimmune disease protection by MDA5 variants.
Singh, R., et al.
Cell Rep 44(6): 115754 [Epub ahead of print]. (30th May 2025) - Distinct tau filament folds in human MAPT mutants P301L and P301T.
Schweighauser, M., et al.
Nat Struct Mol Biol [Epub ahead of print]. (29th May 2025) - Harnessing a noncanonical vestibular input in the head-direction network to rectify age-related navigational deficits.
Hu, XQ., Wu, KL., Rong, KL., Ya, K., Yung, WH., Shum, DK., Chan, YS.
Nat Aging [Epub ahead of print]. (28th May 2025)
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