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.
Leading Japanese biopharmaceutical company, Sosei Group Corporation, has acquired the UK-based biotechnology company, Heptares Therapeutics Limited, to create a leading global biopharmaceutical company with a major drug discovery and development hub in the UK.
Heptares was co-founded in 2007 by Richard Henderson and Chris Tate, LMB group leaders in the Structural Studies Division. It was set up to exploit their pioneering technology to stabilise G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).
Emeritus group leader Cyrus Chothia, from the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, has been honoured with two awards for his ground-breaking work in the use of computational methods to study the structure and function of proteins, and the evolution of genomes, which led to the birth of Structural Bioinformatics and Computational Genomics.
The 2015 Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) Award for Annual Outstanding Contributions to Biomolecular Technologies has been awarded to Brad Amos and John White for the development of the laser-scanning confocal microscope.
Brad and John were members of the LMB when they developed and patented the first high-resolution, laser scanning confocal microscope for biological use in 1987.
Works of art that resulted from unique collaborations between artists and scientists, including LMB group leader Melina Schuh, are currently being displayed in London’s Lethaby Gallery in the exhibition ‘Lens on Life’. This high profile exhibition explores cell division through works of art, with the aim of providing a new perspective on the processes of mitosis and meiosis.
The exhibition also features the documentary ‘Meeting of Minds’.
Melina Schuh, from the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, has been awarded the EMBL Alumni John Kendrew Young Scientist Award for 2015. The award recognises excellence in science and/or science communication by any pre- or post-doctoral alumni of EMBL, up to 7 years after they have left EMBL. Melina was a PhD student in the EMBL Genome Biology Unit before joining the LMB in 2008, becoming a group leader in 2010. She is the first LMB recipient of this award.
Michel Goedert, Joint Head of the LMB’s Neurobiology Division, has been awarded the European Grand Prix for Research by the Foundation for Research on Alzheimer’s disease based in Paris. Michel has been awarded the Prize for “his major work on the importance of the tau pathway in the genesis of Alzheimer’s disease” and for “the high level of his references and for their citations, as well as for his international reputation in the field”.