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
Molecular mechanics of mitotic error correction revealed by cryo-EM

Structure of the outer kinetochore bound to microtubules, determined by David Barford’s group in the Structural Studies Division, reveals how phosphorylation regulates mitotic spindle chromosome attachment errors to ensure DNA is equally segregated into two daughter cells.
Discovery of a new amyloid-forming protein in neurodegenerative disease

The discovery of TAF15 amyloid filaments in patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration by the group of Benjamin Ryskeldi-Falcon in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division establishes this protein as a diagnostic and therapeutic target for this neurodegenerative disorder.
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Latest News
Bart Barrell (1944-2023)
Bart Barrell, former Group Leader in the LMB’s PNAC Division and later co-founder of the Wellcome Sanger Centre, has died aged 79. […]
2023 Crick Lecture to be given by Jill Banfield
The 2023 Francis Crick Lecture titled ‘Innovating metagenomics to explore the strange world of archaeal extrachromosomal elements’ will be given by Jill Banfield at 11AM (GMT) on Monday 27th November. […]
Latest Publications
- Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission.
Styles, CT., et al.
EMBO Mol Med 15(12): e17932. (7th December 2023) - GluD1 binds GABA and controls inhibitory plasticity.
Piot, L., et al.
Science : eadf3406 [Epub ahead of print]. (7th December 2023) - TAF15 amyloid filaments in frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
Tetter, S., et al.
Nature [Epub ahead of print]. (6th December 2023) - Structure determination by cryoEM at 100 keV.
McMullan, G., et al.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 120(49): e2312905120. (5th December 2023) - The molecular basis of translation initiation and its regulation in eukaryotes.
Brito Querido, J., Díaz-López, I., Ramakrishnan, V.
Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol [Epub ahead of print]. (5th December 2023) - Cryo-EM structures of Aβ40 filaments from the leptomeninges of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy.
Yang, Y., et al.
Acta Neuropathol Commun 11(1): 191. (4th December 2023) - Biological clocks: Hungry on time.
Hastings, MH.
Curr Biol 33(23): R1229-R1231. (4th December 2023)
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