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At the Crick, our world-leading research expertise, facilities and flexibility put us in a powerful position to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
Crick scientist handling reagents in a fume hood.

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Support our COVID-19 response

Donate online to help us continue our vital research to answer some of the most urgent questions about coronavirus - guiding the development of new tests, vaccines, treatments and clinical strategies.

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Many of our scientists have set aside their research programmes to focus on finding answers to fundamental questions about SARS-CoV-2, from why it’s deadly in some people but causes no symptoms in others, to how it affects people who are living with cancer. We are also studying how the virus is evolving and the effects of emerging variants.

The need for world-class science has never been greater. We have turned our efforts to COVID-19, but at this time of crisis, we need your generosity and support more than ever.
Professor Adrian Hayday, Assistant Research Director, Francis Crick Institute

This work is guiding the development of new tests, vaccines, treatments and clinical strategies to help bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control. 

Scientific research will ultimately lead us out of this crisis. With our focus on scientific excellence and with multidisciplinary collaboration at our core, here at the Crick we’re ideally placed to drive progress in tackling diseases like COVID-19. 

By donating to the Crick, you will ensure we have the necessary resources and agility to respond to the areas of greatest need as we protect our research programmes and tackle the spread of COVID-19. All donations, no matter what size, will enable us to continue this vital work.

How you can support us

Donate online

Help us combat COVID-19 and protect our vital research programmes.

Donate to our COVID-19 response

Donate to our ongoing work*

Get in touch

Whether you’re an individual or organisation, our dedicated team can help you decide how you can best support the Crick.

Partner with us

Interested in collaborating with the Crick? Contact Rebecca Wilson, Head of Strategic Partnerships, to discuss how we can work together. 

Tackling COVID-19

*Donations are received by Cancer Research UK before being used to support the Crick’s purposes. You can support the Crick by donating to Cancer Research UK.

For this arrangement to be possible, Cancer Research UK and the Crick share information about donors and prospective donors with each other.

Cancer Research UK also undertakes due diligence checks on donors and prospective donors and shares the results with the Crick. For more information see Cancer Research UK’s Privacy Policy.


Tackling COVID-19 at the Francis Crick Institute

We have partnered with UCLH to deliver a large-scale coronavirus vaccination centre at the Crick in our public gallery space. We also rapidly repurposed our lab space at the start of the pandemic, to set up a coronavirus testing facility in a matter of weeks. Our testing service helps ten local hospitals and 150 care homes to remain open and safe for staff and patients. It has also allowed us to safely continue vital research. 

COVID-19 in the lab

Crick experts in virology, immunology, bioinformatics and imaging also continue to improve our understanding of COVID-19 and the way it interacts with the human body. Together, they’re tackling questions including:

Our research

Crick group leader Adrian Hayday is leading a team from the Crick, King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital. The multidisciplinary team are studying how patients' immune systems respond to the virus to understand why some people show no symptoms, while others have to be hospitalised and require critical care.

Clinical group leader Samra Turajlic is working with Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust to determine the impact of the pandemic on cancer patients, including how vaccination may affect people with cancer.

David LV BauerRupert Beale, and Kate Bishop are co-project leads, as part of a national research project, to study the effects of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. 

Paul Bates has joined forces with supercomputing firm Hadean to contribute to their mathematical models of virus transmission, tracking how viruses move within and between cities.

Steve Gamblin's group are using cryo-electron microscopy to study a structure on the surface of the virus, answering questions about how the virus interacts with our cells and how it made the leap from animals to humans. Steve’s work contributed critical understanding about the biology of the H1N1 virus strain that caused the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.

Paul Nurse quote

Paul Nurse

Sir Paul Nurse

We wanted to use our facilities and expertise to help, and we are proud to be able to support NHS staff on the front line who are battling this virus.

Sir Paul Nurse, Director, Francis Crick Institute

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