Applications for the LMB PhD programme are now open. Deadline 5 December 2023.
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
New method to untangle the contribution of signalling pathways involved in asymmetric cell division

Emmanuel Derivery’s group, in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, has developed a method to directly untangle the contribution of any signalling pathway involved in asymmetric cell division.
First Cryo-EM structures of homomeric GluA1 AMPA glutamate receptor reveals functional roles for N-terminal domains

Electron cryo-microscopy structures of GluA1 AMPA receptors from Ingo Greger’s group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division reveals that previously unseen structural flexibility of N-terminal domains is crucial for regulating the open-close speed of ion channel gates and recruiting the receptor into synapses.
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Latest News
Stanislau Yatskevich wins the Birnstiel Award
Stanislau was nominated for was nominated for his research while a PhD student in David Barford’s group in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division. […]
Catarina Franco appointed Head of Mass Spectrometry
Catarina Franco has recently become Head of the LMB’s Mass Spectrometry Facility, an integral support service allowing researchers to identify, characterise and quantify proteins in biological systems. […]
Latest Publications
- MRC2020: improvements to Ximdisp and the MRC image-processing programs.
Short, JM., et al.
IUCrJ [Epub ahead of print]. (1st September 2023) - Olfactory chemosensation extends lifespan through TGF-β signaling and UPR activation.
De-Souza, EA., Thompson, MA., Taylor, RC.
Nat Aging 3(8): 938-947. (27th August 2023) - Updated protein domain annotation of the PARP protein family sheds new light on biological function.
Suskiewicz, MJ., et al.
Nucleic Acids Res 51(15): 8217-8236. (25th August 2023) - Structural basis of telomeric nucleosome recognition by shelterin factor TRF1.
Hu, H., et al.
Sci Adv 9(34): eadi4148. (25th August 2023) - An anti-LpqH human monoclonal antibody from an asymptomatic individual mediates protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Krishnananthasivam, S., et al.
NPJ Vaccines 8(1): 127. (25th August 2023) - An activator of voltage-gated K channels Kv1.1 as a therapeutic candidate for episodic ataxia type 1.
Servettini, I., et al.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 120(31): e2207978120. (24th August 2023) - Lipids, Blood Pressure, and Diabetes Mellitus on Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases in East Asians: A Mendelian Randomization Study.
Ciofani, JL., Han, D., Allahwala, UK., Woolf, B., Gill, D., Bhindi, R.
Am J Cardiol 205: 329-337 [Epub ahead of print]. (24th August 2023)
See more Publications