Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (CIMR)

The idea that scientific discoveries are made by a solitary genius working alone in a lab is much more myth than reality. Discoveries come from great teams working in a supportive and positive environment, where everyone’s contributions are valued and celebrated. I’m hugely grateful to everyone who makes CIMR such an extraordinary place to work. - Prof Julian Rayner, CIMR Director 

We are an interdisciplinary cross-department research institute. 

Our mission is to determine the molecular mechanisms of disease in order to advance human health.  

Life on Earth is built on cells, which must organise and maintain themselves to grow and divide - whether they are part of complex multi-cellular organisms such as humans, or single-celled organisms such as the bacteria and parasites that can infect us.  

The ability of cells to maintain themselves depends on many thousands of different proteins. All of which must be produced, folded into three-dimensional structures, transported to the location (or organelle) within the cell where they function, and then destroyed when they are no longer required.   

Understanding such critical and highly complex biological processes helps us understand how diseases occur. We focus on three specific disease areas: 

• rare genetic diseases
• neurological diseases
• those caused when cells are manipulated by intracellular pathogens 

We have a large graduate student body, with typically over 40 PhD students and around 15 Masters. Along with the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, we run a taught MPhil course  in Molecular Mechanism of Human Disease. 

We have an active public engagement programme, focusing on widening participation programmes to actively increase the diversity of the science talent pipeline, and family-friendly events.