MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
One of the world's leading research institutes, our scientists are working to advance understanding of biological processes at the molecular level - providing the knowledge needed to solve key problems in human health.
In a Times Higher Education feature about the global researcher talent race, Sven Truckenbrodt, who joined the LMB’s Neurobiology Division in October 2025, shares his motivations for moving to the LMB from California and how Global Talent Funding has been a huge accelerator, enabling quick access to the highly specialised microscopes he needs to conduct his brain connectomics research. More…
The LMB is proud to be a founding member of the UK National Research Organisations (NRO) Group, a new alliance of 35 organisations dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of people, communities, the economy and national priorities. The NRO Group is a trusted partner for government, academia and industry, providing a unified and authoritative perspective on science, policy and research investment – making research matter. More…
Roger Highfield, Science Director at the Science Museum, explains the wider significance of new research from the LMB’s PNAC Division which describes a pipeline to manipulate human chromosomes without genetic damage. The work, led by Julian Sale and Jason Chin as part of a wider Synthetic Human Genome (SynHG) project backed by the Wellcome Trsut, is the first step towards their ultimate goal of writing human genomes from scratch. More…
Madeline Lancaster, Joint Head of the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, appeared alongside Brian Cox and other experts on a recent episode of the Francis Crick Institute and BBC Studios podcast A Question of Science. The discussion explored the rapidly evolving field of human bioengineering: how we might build, enhance, or replace parts of the human body, what current technology allows, and what breakthroughs may be on the horizon, even considering whether future humans could adapt to living in space. More…
Greg Jefferis’s group, as part of an international collaboration including the FlyEM Project Team at HHMI-Janelia, has published the first complete connectome of an entire male Drosophila central nervous system. The connectome, which is not yet peer-reviewed, includes the central brain, optic lobes and the ventral nerve cord. More…
Lori Passmore, Group Leader and Joint Head of the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, has been appointed Honorary Professor of the University of Cambridge and received an Honorary Doctorate from Aarhus University in Denmark. Lori is an Official Fellow of Clare Hall College, Cambridge and has collaborated closely with Aarhus University since launching her independent research group. More…