Fluorescent confocal micrograph of human melanoma cells.
© Paul J Smith and Rachel Errington, Wellcome Images

Work at The Francis Crick Institute will be based on the world-class research currently being carried out at the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research, Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute and in the laboratories of UCL, Imperial College London and King's College London.

Founded in 1913, the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) is renowned for its research in a diverse range of fields, including developmental and stem cell biology, structural biology, neuroscience, immunology and infectious disease. It supports research across the biomedical spectrum, from fundamental, lab-based science to clinical trials, and in all major disease areas. With existing strong links to UCL, NIMR is the Medical Research Council's largest unit, with almost 600 scientific staff, fellows and PhD students. Its director is Dr Jim Smith.

The Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (LRI) has an international reputation for its research in the basic biology of cancer. The institute's broad research programme covers three areas — genomic integrity and the cell cycle, cell regulatory mechanisms, and tissues and tumour biology.  With some 500 scientists, the LRI is the largest core-funded institute in Cancer Research UK's portfolio. Led by Dr Richard Treisman, the institute operates at laboratories at Lincoln's Inn Fields in central London and Clare Hall in Hertfordshire.

The Wellcome Trust supports diverse activities that span basic, clinical and public health research, technology transfer, medical humanities and public engagement. This gives it an unparalleled breadth of vision — bringing multiple perspectives to bear on key health challenges and setting advances in biomedicine within their broader historical and cultural contexts. The Trust's funding philosophy centres on supporting and developing the very best researchers, and giving them the resources that they need to undertake research of the highest quality.

UCL (University College London) is one of the world's leading research universities, with nearly 2,000 researchers in the biomedical sciences alone. UCL has great strengths in medicine, the physical sciences and mathematics, and promotes interdisciplinary interactions among its many institutes. UCL Medical School forms part of its School of Life and Medical Sciences, led by Professor Sir John Tooke. Focused on the translation of research into solutions to the world's major problems, UCL works across the disciplines and with partners all over the world.

Innovative research at Imperial College London explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture. In 2007, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust formed the UK's first Academic Health Science Centre. This unique partnership aims to improve the quality of life of patients and populations by taking new discoveries and translating them into new therapies as quickly as possible.

Ground-breaking research at King’s College London is contributing significantly to cutting edge advances in medical science. King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the sciences, including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of its academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading.