Our research

Through our team of 400 researchers and support staff we’re exploring a wide variety of topics across all areas of biochemistry, researching at molecular, structural and cell levels.

 

We work to understand the mechanisms underlying the fundamental question - what is life? Our approaches span huge scales, from single atoms to entire organisms. We investigate proteins by describing the position of every atom, image individual proteins carrying out their function in living cells and follow cells as they work together in tissues. This knowledge can then put to work by scientists, medical doctors and businesses to develop new ways of protecting and advancing human life.

This kind of high-quality research involves many exceptionally-skilled people and costs a lot of money, so every year we raise around £12.5million to support our work. This money comes from the UK government, international research councils, UK charities and industrial sources. Raised in competitions for funding with other scientists from all over the world, it enables us to publish over 250 research studies every year. Because of this our work is internationally recognised for its impact on human life and for decades we’ve maintained our reputation as a world-leading centre for biochemistry.