Francis Crick Institute

Artist's impression of UKCMRI building from intersection of Ossulton Street and Brill PlaceThe Francis Crick Institute (formerly known as the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI) will be a world-class centre for interdisciplinary medical sciences, research and innovation, sited at the heart of a cluster of scientific excellence in central London. 

This ambitious project is funded by four of the UK's leading biomedical research organisations: the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust and University College London (UCL).

This cutting edge facility will stimulate scientists and medical professionals to work together in inspiring new ways. The Institute, will enable groundbreaking research to turn discoveries into treatments for the illnesses which affect families in the UK and around the world, safeguarding the health of generations to come.

Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Laureate, Cancer Research UK funded scientist and chairman of the Francis Crick Institute Scientific Planning Committee, says: "The Institute aims to break down the traditional barriers between different research teams and different disciplines, thereby encouraging biologists, clinician scientists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, and computer scientists to work together to answer shared questions. With 1250 scientists working with an encompassing infrastructure, the Crick Institute will provide the critical mass, support and unique environment to tackle difficult research questions."

The Crick Institute will use inter-disciplinary and innovative approaches to reveal the basic biology underlying the understanding of human health that is necessary to attack the causes of death and disease, including cancer, circulatory disease, infectious disease of the immune and nervous systems, and the multiple degenerative conditions associated with ageing.

The Institute will be constructed on 3.6 acres of land at Brill Place, in the St Pancras and Somers Town area of north London. Work is scheduled to begin on the site in 2011, for completion in 2015.

Cancer Research UK is the only founding partner raising funds philanthropically to help build the Institute through its Create the Change campaign.  The campaign aims to raise £100 million and signals Cancer Research UK's commitment to the development and future of cancer research.

Watch a video fly-through of the Francis Crick Institute building design.



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For more information about this initiative, visit the Francis Crick Institute website.