National Institute for Medical Research
Dstl | |
Website | Archived |
---|
The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC);
In 2016, the NIMR became part of the new Francis Crick Institute, which was constructed next to St Pancras railway station in the Camden area of central London.
History
Foundation
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Henry_Dale_nobel.jpg/220px-Henry_Dale_nobel.jpg)
The Medical Research Council, founded in 1913, was immediately charged with establishing a central research institute in London. Later that year, premises at Hampstead were acquired and the National Institute for Medical Research was founded.[citation needed]
However, the outbreak of World War I soon afterwards delayed occupation of the building, although senior staff were appointed and began work. By 1920 the institute at Mount Vernon Hospital was fully operational and remained so for 30 years until the move to Mill Hill. The original institute, under the directorship of Sir Henry Dale, had three divisions:[citation needed]
- Bacteriology
- Biochemistry and Pharmacology
- Applied Physiology
Dale oversaw a period of considerable success at NIMR, including the discovery of the human
Moving to Mill Hill
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/World_Influenza_Centre%2C_Mill_Hill.jpg/220px-World_Influenza_Centre%2C_Mill_Hill.jpg)
In the 1930s, the decision was made to move the institute to new premises. An imposing copper-roofed building at Mill Hill was designed by
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/NIMR_Lab_Technicians_in_Brown_and_White_Coats.jpg/220px-NIMR_Lab_Technicians_in_Brown_and_White_Coats.jpg)
The official
2000 to present
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/National_Institute_for_Medical_Research_demolition_2018.jpeg/220px-National_Institute_for_Medical_Research_demolition_2018.jpeg)
In 2003, as part of their Forward Investment Strategy, the MRC announced plans to consider moving NIMR from its location in Mill Hill to a university/medical school site, to enhance its ability "to translate its biomedical research into practical health outcomes." [1][2] University College London was selected as a preferred partner institution, and a nearby site in central London was acquired.[3]
Some staff at the NIMR, including
In September 2006, Skehel retired as NIMR director
On 1 April 2015, the NIMR became part of the new Francis Crick Institute[9] and ceased to exist as a separate MRC institute. The site at Mill Hill was fully vacated and closed for redevelopment during 2017.
In 2018 demolition of the building began, to make way for new homes.[10]
Activities
Mill Hill Essays
A yearly collection of essays is produced by guest authors and staff at the institute, under the title Mill Hill Essays.[11] They are written to be accessible and informative to the lay reader.[citation needed]
Notable staff
- Gordon Ada AO FAA (1922–2012), Australian biochemist
- biological chemist
- immunologist
- Brigid Balfour (1914–1994), immunologist
- Frank Hawking OX (1940–1970) parasitologist
- Rosa Beddington FRS (1956–2001), developmental biologist
- Hilda Bruce (1903–1974), zoologist, discoverer of the Bruce effect
- Sir FRSNZ (1899–1985), Australian virologist and immunologist, 1960 Nobel Prize for predicting acquired immune tolerance
- United States National Academy of Sciences.
- Sir pharmacologist and physiologist and 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- FMedSci(1937–2012), biochemist
- Florence Margaret Durham (1869–1948), geneticist
- Sir David Evans FRS (1909–1984), microbiologist
- physiologist and biologist
- Sir thyroxine
- Sir Charles Arthur Lovatt Evans physiologist
- parasitologist
- developmental biologist
- virologist, best known for his co-discovery of interferonat the National Institute in 1957
- Charles Kellaway MC FRS (1889–1952), Australian medical researcher and science administrator
- Jean Lindenmann (1924–2015), Swiss virologist, co-discovered interferon in 1957 with Dr. Alick Isaacs at the National Institute for Medical Research[12]
- Mary C. Lobban (1922–1982), physiologist who studied circadian rhythms
- Robin Lovell-Badge FRS, geneticist most noted for his discovery of the SRY gene in mammals
- Archer John Porter Martin FRS (1910–2002), chemist, 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the invention of partition chromatography
- Dame Anne McLaren DBE FRS FRCOG (1927–2007), developmental biologist
- Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet
- Marjorie Mussett (1922–2004), biologist and endocrinologist
- Indira Nath (born 1938), Indian immunologist
- FRCP (1908–1996) pathologist
- Janet Niven (1902–1974), histologist and pathologist
- immunologist
- Dame DBE FRS(born 1938), Australian and British scientist
- Delphine Parrott (born 1928), endocrinologist and immunologist
- Rosalind Pitt-Rivers FRS (1907–1990), biochemist
- Christopher Polge CBE FRS (1926–2006), biologist, most noted for his work in cryopreservation
- Rodney Robert Porter FRS (1917–1985), biochemist and Nobel Laureate
- Elizabeth Press (1920–2008), immunologist
- Sir virologist
- Audrey Smith (1915–1981), cryobiologist
- virologist
- Jonathan P. Stoye, virologist
- Dame Janet Thornton DBE FRS (born 1949), Director of the European Bioinformatics Institute
- Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of York(born 1961)
- Anne Warner FRS, biologist
- Hélio Gelli Pereira FRS (1918–1994), virologist
In fiction
The rooms and other locations in the building were used in the film Batman Begins, for the Arkham Asylum scenes.[13]
The location was also used in Episode 2, Series 2 of the Channel 4 comedy series, 'Toast of London' to double as a tax office with the character of Ray Purchase seen entering the building.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ "Medical Research Council - NIMR Renewal". Medical Research Council. Archived from the original on 31 October 2006. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
- ^ a b "Page cannot be found". Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ Haverty, Amanda (19 November 2003). "Irish science funds flow again". The Scientist. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
- ^ "The Scientist :: NIMR inquiry criticizes MRC, Feb. 8, 2005". Archived from the original on 26 November 2005.
- ^ "House of Commons - Science and Technology - Fourth Report". parliament.uk.
- ^ "NIMR, London :: News :: 2006". Archived from the original on 10 September 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2006.
- ^ "National Institute for Medical Research, London :: Organisation structure". Archived from the original on 10 September 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2006.
- ^ "404". 30 May 2014.
{{cite web}}
: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ "A new name for UKCMRI". crick.ac.uk. The Francis Crick Institute. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ Jones, Nick (9 April 2018). "Demolition eats away at local landmark". The Barnet Society. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
- ^ "Mill Hill Essays | MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London". Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "From leafy suburbs to silver screen". Times Series.