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.
Quick Links
Latest News
HR Advisors Ash Munday, Christina Karikides and Callum Armstrong reflect on earning their CIPD Diplomas
The HR Advisors share their motivations and experience of coordinating pursuing the CIPD qualification studies with their job. […]
Kelly Nguyen awarded 2025 Lister Prize
Kelly Nguyen, Group Leader in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, has been announced as one of the 2025 recipients of the prestigious Lister Institute Research Prize. […]
Latest Publications
- A self-assembling surface layer flattens the cytokinetic furrow to aid cell division in an archaeon.
Foo, S., Caspy, I., Cezanne, A., Bharat, TAM., Baum, B.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122(25): e2501044122. (24th June 2025) - Structure of the virulence-associated filamentous bacteriophage MDAΦ.
Böhning, J., et al.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122(25): e2420157122. (24th June 2025) - Expression of clock genes tracks daily and tidal time in brains of intertidal crustaceans Eurydice pulchra and Parhyale hawaiensis.
Oliphant, A., Sia, CY., Kyriacou, CP., Wilcockson, DC., Hastings, MH.
Curr Biol 35(12): 2802-2815.e5. (23rd June 2025) - Divergence in neuronal signaling pathways despite conserved neuronal identity among Caenorhabditis species.
Toker, IA., et al.
Curr Biol 35(12): 2927-2945.e7. (23rd June 2025) - Neural substrates of cold nociception in larva.
Patel, AA., Cardona, A., Cox, DN.
Elife 12. (13th June 2025) - Cystic Fibrosis Microbiome-directed Antibiotic Therapy Trial in Exacerbations Results Stratified (CFMATTERS): Results of a multi-centre randomised controlled trial.
Plant, BJ., et al.
Eur Respir J [Epub ahead of print]. (12th June 2025) - Asparaginyl Ligases with Engineered Substrate Specificity for Controlled, Sequential Transpeptidation Reactions.
Zhou, Y., de Veer, SJ., Tyler, TJ., Chen, Y., Durek, T., Craik, DJ., Rehm, FBH.
J Am Chem Soc [Epub ahead of print]. (11th June 2025)
See more Publications