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The Babraham Institute is a life sciences research institution focussing on healthy ageing. The Babraham Institute is based on the Babraham Research Campus, partly occupying a former manor house, but also laboratory and science facility buildings on the campus, surrounded by an extensive parkland estate, just south of
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It is an independent and charitable organization which is involved in biomedical research, including healthy aging and molecular biology. The director is Dr Simon Cook who also leads the Institute's signalling research programme. The Babraham Institute is a member of EU-LIFE, an alliance of leading life sciences research centres in Europe. It is also a partner organisation of the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...


History

The institute is located on the historic Babraham Hall Estate (now called the Babraham Research Campus), situated six miles south-east of
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, near the
Gog Magog Hills The Gog Magog Hills are a range of low chalk hills, extending for several miles to the southeast of Cambridge in England. The highest points are either side of the A1307 Babraham Road, and are marked on Ordnance Survey 1:25000 maps as "Telegrap ...
. It is close to where the ancient Roman
Via Devana Via Devana is the name given to a Roman Road in England that ran from Colchester in the south-east, through Cambridge in the interior, and on to Chester in the north-west. These were important Roman military centres and it is conjectured that th ...
crossed the prehistoric
Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, withi ...
. The estate includes Babraham Hall, designed in the
Jacobean style The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James VI and I, with whose reign (1603–1625 in England) it is associated. At the start of James's reign, the ...
by
Philip Hardwick Philip Hardwick (15 June 1792 in London – 28 December 1870) was an English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere. Hardwick is probably best known for London's demolished Euston Arch ...
, which was built between 1832 and 1837. The hall was purchased by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in 1948 at the suggestion of Prof Ivan De Burgh Daly, together with 182 hectares of farm and woodland to become the Institute of Animal Physiology, Babraham. A department of biochemistry was established in 1954 by Sir Rudolph Peters FRS, who had just retired from
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. He invited
Rex Dawson Rexford Paul Dawson (born February 10, 1888 – October 20, 1958) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Washington Senators. He played his only major league game on October 3, 1913. He was born in Mount Vernon, Washington Mount Verno ...
to join him the following year. In 1986, The Institute of Animal Physiology was joined with two Scottish institutes based at Roslin, The Animal Breeding Research Organisation (ABRO) and the Poultry Research Centre, to form The Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Research (IAPGR) funded by the
Agricultural and Food Research Council The Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC) was a British Research Council responsible for funding and managing scientific and technological developments in farming and horticulture. History The AFRC was formed in 1983 from its predecessor ...
(AFRC). In 1993, Roslin and Babraham formed two separate institutes, at which time the Babraham Institute assumed its current name. in 1994, The AFRC was disbanded and The
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds science, scient ...
(BBSRC) was formed. All work with direct relevance to agriculture ceased in 1998.


Research

The aim of the research conducted at The Babraham Institute is to study the molecular mechanisms that underlie normal cellular processes and functions, and to understand how these systems are affected by age. The Institute's work also covers how faults or abnormalities in these systems may contribute to disease. The Institute has the status of a postgraduate department within the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
and trains
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
students who are registered with the University's Faculty of Biology. The research laboratories of the Institute are structured around three strategic programmes: * Signalling (headed by Simon Cook): focuses on proteins that play a critical role in controlling communication between and within cells. These proteins make up the
signalling pathways Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events. Proteins responsible for detecting stimuli are generally termed receptors, although in some cases the term ...
that organise how cells and organs develop and react to their environment. * Immunology (headed by
Martin Turner Martin Robert Turner (born 1 October 1947) is an English musician best known for his time as the bass guitarist, lead vocalist and a founding member of the rock band, Wishbone Ash. Career Turner was with Wishbone Ash from their inception in ...
): investigates signal transduction pathways that regulate the survival and activation of lymphocytes. *
Epigenetics In biology, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that happen without changes to the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix ''epi-'' (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "on top of" or "in ...
(headed by Gavin Kelsey): studies how epigenetic information is introduced into the genome during early development of an organism, which can in part depend on environmental or nutritional factors acting through cell signalling pathways. Research breakthroughs made at the Babraham Institute include the discovery of
liposomes A liposome is a small artificial vesicle, spherical in shape, having at least one lipid bilayer. Due to their hydrophobicity and/or hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, particle size and many other properties, liposomes can be used as drug deliver ...
by
Alec Bangham Alec Douglas Bangham FRS (10 November 1921 Manchester – 9 March 2010 Great Shelford) was a British biophysicist who first studied blood clotting mechanisms but became well known for his research on liposomes and his invention of clinically u ...
, the role of
Inositol trisphosphate Inositol trisphosphate or inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate abbreviated InsP3 or Ins3P or IP3 is an inositol phosphate signaling molecule. It is made by hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), a phospholipid that is located in the ...
in the release of
calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...
from intracellular stores by
Michael Berridge Sir Michael John Berridge (22 October 1938 – 13 February 2020) was a British physiologist and biochemist. He was known for his work on cell signaling, in particular the discovery that inositol trisphosphate acts as a second messenger, link ...
,Berridge MJ and Irvine RF (1984) Inositol trisphosphate, a novel second messenger in cellular signal transduction. ''Nature'' 312, 315 - 321 the discovery that
genomic imprinting Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon that causes genes to be expressed or not, depending on whether they are inherited from the female or male parent. Genes can also be partially imprinted. Partial imprinting occurs when alleles from b ...
was carried by DNA methylation by Wolf Reik. Many of its past and current employees were elected fellows of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, including (in date order) Drs Sir Rudolph Albert Peters (1935), Ivan de Burgh Daly (1943), Sir John Henry Gaddum (1945),
Marthe Vogt Marthe Louise Vogt (September 8, 1903 – September 9, 2003) was a German scientist recognized as one of the leading neuroscientists of the twentieth century. She is mainly remembered for her important contributions to the understanding of t ...
(1952), Richard Darwin Keynes (1959), Sir Barry Cross (1975),
Rex Malcolm Chaplin Dawson Rex Malcolm Chaplin Dawson FRS (1924–2021) was a British biochemist whose research was primarily dedicated to the study of phospholipids. His career was based at the Babraham Institute, Cambridge, starting in 1955, in the newly formed biochemist ...
(1981), Sir Robert Brian Heap (1989), M Azim Surani (1990), Robin Francis Irvine (1993), Jonathan Charles Howard (1995), Wolf Reik (2010), Len Stephens (2011),
Phil Hawkins Phil Hawkins (born December 26, 1984) is a commercial, television and independent film director from Manchester, United Kingdom. His work in feature film includes '' Prancer: A Christmas Tale'' (2022) and '' Robin And The Hoods'' (2024) He is als ...
(2013). Babraham Institute Enterprise Ltd (BIE), the wholly owned trading subsidiary of the Babraham Institute promotes knowledge transfer and translation of the Institute’s research discoveries, actively managing and exploiting the Institute’s intellectual property, promoting and negotiating commercial research partnerships and establishing spin-out companies when appropriate.


Funding

The Institute's research programmes are primarily supported by Institute Strategic Programme Grants (ISPGs) awarded by the
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds science, scient ...
(BBSRC), part of
UK Research and Innovation UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding, funded through the science budget of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology ...
. Additional grant funding comes from other research councils, such as the MRC,
the Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predeces ...
, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
, charitable foundations and medical charities. Some industry funding supports collaborative research projects.


Directors

* 1949-1958 Ivan de Burgh Daly CBE, FRS * 1958-1965 Sir John Henry Gaddum FRS * 1965-1972 Richard Darwin Keynes CBE, FRS * 1973-1989 Sir Barry Albert Cross CBE, FRS * 1989-1993 Sir Robert Brian Heap CBE, FRS * 1994-2005 Richard Dyer OBE * 2005-2007 John Bicknell (acting director) * 2007–2020 Michael J O Wakelam * 2020-2021 Wolf Reik FRS (acting and then permanent director) * 2021- 2022 Simon Cook (interim director) * 2022- Simon Cook (director)


References


External links


The Babraham Institute website

The BBSRC website
{{Authority control Companies based in Cambridgeshire Molecular biology institutes Research institutes in Cambridgeshire Partner institutions of the University of Cambridge
Institute An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...