The MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit (formerly the MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit) is a department of the
School of Clinical Medicine at 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 ...
, funded through a strategic partnership between the
Medical Research Council and the University. It is located at the
Addenbrooke’s Hospital
Addenbrooke's Hospital is a large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. It is run by Cambri ...
/
Cambridge Biomedical Campus
The Cambridge Biomedical Campus is the largest centre of medical research and health science in Europe. The site is located at the southern end of Hills Road in Cambridge, England.
Over 20,000 people work at the site, which is home to Cambrid ...
site in
Cambridge, England
Cambridge ( ) is a 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 United Kingdom census, the population of ...
. The unit is concerned with the study of the
mitochondrion
A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cell (biology), cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double lipid bilayer, membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine tri ...
, as this organelle has a varied and critical role in many aspects of
eukaryotic
The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...
metabolism and is implicated in many metabolic, degenerative, and age-related human diseases.
History
The Unit was founded in 1927 using a donation from
Sir William Dunn, who left £1 million to charity on his death in 1912. Part of this money was used to fund what was then called the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, with its research supported by the
Medical Research Council (MRC). Its original research focus was to investigate the role of vitamins in human health. Under the directorship of Egon Kodicek this focus changed to more general nutritional research. The Unit was restructured in 1998 under the directorship of
Professor Sir John Walker to focus on mitochondrial research. The Unit was renamed in 2009 to the Mitochondrial Biology Unit to reflect its mitochondrial expertise. In March 2017 the Unit was transferred from the MRC to 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 ...
. The current director of the Unit is
Professor Judy Hirst.
The Unit has three major scientific aims:
# To understand the fundamental processes taking place in mitochondria
# To understand the involvement of these processes in human diseases
# To exploit knowledge of these fundamental processes for the development of new therapies to treat human diseases
Research Groups
The MBU is organised into nine independent research groups
and includes 30-40 graduate students who are members 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 ...
:
* Professor
Judy Hirst FRS - Understanding the molecular mechanism of complex I and its roles in human disease
* Professor
Patrick Chinnery - Mitochondrial genomics and human diseases
* Professor Edmund Kunji - Understanding transport processes in mitochondria
* Dr Michal Minczuk - Discovering the genetic links between mitochondrial dysfunction and human disease
* Professor Mike Murphy - Targeting therapeutic and probe molecules to mitochondria, mitochondrial radical production and redox signalling
* Dr Julien Prudent - Interactions between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum in cell physiology and disease
* Dr Jelle van den Ameele - Molecular mechanisms of tissue specificity in mitochondrial disease
* Dr Alex Whitworth - Genetic models of neurodegenerative disease
* Professor
John E. Walker FRS - Understanding the molecular mechanism of how ATP is made
Directors
Professor Judy Hirst FRS (2020 - )
(2013 - 2019)
Professor Sir John Walker FRS (1998 - 2013)
(1973 – 1998)
Dr Egon Kodicek CBE FRS (1963 - 1973)
Dr Leslie Harris (1929 - 1963)
Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins
Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (20 June 1861 – 16 May 1947) was an English biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929, with Christiaan Eijkman, for the discovery of vitamins. He also discovered the amino ...
(1927 - 1929)
See also
*
Sir William Dunn Institute of Biochemistry
The Sir William Dunn Institute of Biochemistry at Cambridge University was a research institute endowed from the estate of Sir William Dunn, which was the origin of the Cambridge Department of Biochemistry. Created for Frederick Gowland Hopkin ...
- another beneficiary of Dunn's will
References
External links
*
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Biological research institutes in the United Kingdom
Nutrition in the United Kingdom
Medical research institutes in the United Kingdom
Research institutes in Cambridge
Mitochondrial Biology Unit, MRC
Medical Research Council (United Kingdom)