London Research Institute

The Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (LRI) is a biological research facility whose aim is to conduct research into the basic biology of cancer. The LRI houses 46 research groups based at two locations: Lincoln's Inn Fields (LIF) laboratories in central London, and Clare Hall (CH) laboratories on London's outskirts at South Mimms, Hertfordshire.

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The LRI has its origins as the principal research facilities of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund which was founded in 1902 - the first specialist cancer research charity in the United Kingdom. In 2002, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the Cancer Research Campaign merged to form Cancer Research UK, the largest cancer charity in Europe with an annual scientific spend of £257 million (in 2005/06). The LRI is the largest core-funded institute in Cancer Research UK's portfolio.

The LRI has an international reputation for cancer research. Themes of research are signal transduction (biology of tissues and organs, and molecular cell biology) and genome integrity (cell cycle and chromosomes and DNA repair). Eleven of the scientific staff are Fellows of the Royal Society and two have received knighthoods and two are Nobel Laureates.

Discoveries

Lincoln's Inn Fields Laboratories

The laboratories are associated with a number of major scientific discoveries, including the discovery of the p53 gene, the link between growth factors and oncogenes; the identification of mammalian homologues of the cell cycle regulator cdc2; and the identification of the sex-determining gene SRY.

In 1975 Dr Renato Dulbecco, then Deputy Research Director of the Laboratories shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on the interactions between DNA tumour viruses and cells. In 2001, the Nobel Committee again honoured the Lincoln's Inn Fields Laboratories with the award of a share of the Prize to Dr Paul Nurse, then Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK and a group leader at the Lincoln's Inn Fields laboratories for his work on the cell cycle.

Clare Hall Laboratories

The Scientific Director of the Clare Hall laboratories is Dr John Diffley. The laboratories are housed on a purpose-built research campus adjoining Clare Hall Manor (a Grade II listed building) located approximately 15 miles to the north of central London in the Hertfordshire greenbelt.

The Clare Hall laboratories were officially opened in 1986. Under the guidance of Director Tomas Lindahl, Clare Hall became, and remains today, a leading centre for studies of DNA repair, recombination and replication, cell cycle control and transcription. In addition, the site has provided scientific support services of increasing sophistication over the years.

Dr Tim Hunt, a Clare Hall Group Leader, shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with his Lincoln's Inn Fields colleague, Dr Paul Nurse.