The

Medical Research Council (UK) The Medical Research Council (MRC) is responsible for co-coordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is part of United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI), which came into operation 1 April 2018, and brings together ...

Human Genetics Unit is situated at the Western General Hospital in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. It is one of the largest MRC research establishments, housing over two hundred scientists, support staff, research fellows, PhD students, and visiting workers.

Staff

current and former staff at the MRC HGU include:

Directors

* 1956–1969 Dr Michael Court Brown * 1969–1994 Professor John Evans * 1994–2015 Professor Nicholas Hastie * 2015– Professor Wendy Bickmore

Group leaders

* Pleasantine Mill *

Chris Ponting Christopher Paul Ponting is a British computational biologist, specializing in the evolution and function of genes and genomes. He is currently Chair of Medical Bioinformatics at the University of Edinburgh and group leader in the MRC Human G ...

Sections

The Human Genetics Unit is divided into three sections: Biomedical Genomics -Research harnesses the power of large genome-size and population data to reveal the complex nature of disease processes. Section Head: Professor Chris Ponting Genome Regulation -Research focuses on mechanisms that maintain the stability of the genome between cells and between generations, regulate the expression of genes and how changes to these contribute to disease. Section Head: Professor Javier Caceres Disease Mechanisms -Research aims to understand how changes in our genomes cause disease by studying patients and families as well as model organisms. Joint Section Heads: Professor David FitzPatrick and Professor Ian Jackson

Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM)

In 2007 the Human Genetics Unit formed a partnership with two neighbouring research centres on the Western General Hospital campus, the Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine (

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

) and the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre (

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

), to create the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine. The Human Genetics Unit officially became part of the

in 2011. The three partner centres comprising the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine were linked with a new building in 2015.

References

External links

Medical Research Council (UK)MRC Human Genetics UnitInstitute of Genetics and Molecular MedicineCentre for Genomic and Experimental MedicineEdinburgh Cancer Research CentreWestern General Hospital
{{authority control Genetics in the United Kingdom Genetics or genomics research institutions Human genetics Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) Medical research institutes in the United Kingdom Research institutes established in 1967 Research institutes in Edinburgh