MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences

The LMS is a vibrant research environment in which scientists and clinicians collaborate to advance the application of biology to medicine.

17/02/2026

🎓New PhD positions open!
We’re recruiting for 4 Team Science PhD projects.
Our Team Science PhD programme tackles major challenges in human health through interdisciplinary teamwork, focusing on:
• Nucleic acid sensors in ageing-associated inflammation
• Reproductive health and fertility: ageing, s*x and the environment
We’re also recruiting to our core PhD programme and are seeking 1 PhD student to join a project that will combine protein design and high-throughput in vivo screening to engineer proteins that address major agricultural and medical challenges.
Our students receive a £26,500 tax-free stipend, tuition fee coverage, funding for consumables and visa support.
Join a research community designed to accelerate discovery and develop the next generation of scientists.
Deadline: 10 March, 9am.
👉 Visit the link in our bio to find out more!

11/02/2026

For International Day of Women and Girls in Science we’re highlighting Dr Lila Allou. Lila joined the LMS in 2024 and leads the Genomic Variation and Disease Research Group, which focuses on the effects of changes in chromosome structure on our health.

“I didn’t always know I wanted a career in science when I was growing up. My path began during my training in a Clinical and Medical Genetics Unit, where I met children with rare diseases and their families searching for answers. Seeing firsthand the impact of unanswered medical questions has shaped my scientific journey.”

05/02/2026

Congratulations to Professor Matthias Merkenschlager and collaborators on their Wellcome Discovery Award!🌟

These prestigious awards provide funding for cross-disciplinary teams to pursue bold and creative research ideas that will deliver significant shifts in our understanding of human health and wellbeing.

Professor Matthias Merkenschlager will work with lead Principal Investigator Professor Daniel Panne at the University of Leicester and Professor Benjamin Rowland at the Netherlands Cancer Institute across scales from the atomic to the organismal level to understand the role of the protein complex cohesin in organising a range of genomic processes that are central to human development and disease. 🧬

04/02/2026

Today for World Cancer Day, we’re highlighting some important research our scientists are doing to help find better cancer treatments.

The image shows ovarian cancer cells that have been treated with a drug called Rucaparib. The drug is naturally fluorescent, appearing here in cyan, and works by stopping cancer cells from being able to repair DNA damage and triggering further damage to the cancer cells. Our scientists can visualise these breaks in DNA using a specific antibody, in red. Because the cell nuclei are stained blue, DNA damage shows up as bright pink dots, where each dot is a point of breakage in the DNA. To visualise the cells, they stained the cytoskeleton grey and made the cells express a green fluorescent protein.

Notably, even though every cell is given the exact same dose, different cells show different levels of the drug and varying amounts of DNA damage. At the LMS, we’re working to understand what causes this heterogeneity so we can figure out how to overcome it and ensure the treatment works effectively for every cell.

Thank you to the Drug Transport and Tumour Metabolism Group who shared this image with us!

03/02/2026

We were delighted to welcome students from the to a tour of the LMS last Friday!

This visit was the final part of UWLs incredible enhancement week organised by

The students get the chance to talk to scientists and learn about careers in research they may not have considered before. Meanwhile, our staff get to brush up on their communication skills and get inspired by the students’passion and interest in science.

29/01/2026

Congratulations to PhenoPhase for winning YES 2025, receiving awards for Best Healthcare Business and Best Financial Planning.

The winning team was made up of A’ishah Shaikh, Minna Xu, Monika Kyliotaityte, Phoebe Hopper and Shamin Tahasildar. This team represents the LMS’ interdisciplinary spirit, with members coming from across the department and different roles, including technicians and PhD students.

This is a fantastic achievement and a brilliant example of how scientists can engage with the worlds of IP, business and innovation. Translational research is at the heart of the LMS and competitions like the Your Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) help develop the necessary skills in young researchers.

The idea pitched by PhenoPhase is a smart wellness device that uses aptamer-based technology to measure key female hormones and metabolites, providing insights to help women naturally support hormone balance. This capitalises on a real need for better data on women’s health, one of the many areas of research the LMS is dedicated to.

Alongside congratulating the winning team, we’d like to thank the LMS people who supported them along the way Deva Senevirathne and David Kennard.

Well done PhenoPhase! We’re excited to see what you do next!

10/12/2025

🎉 Exciting news from the LMS!

We’re thrilled to celebrate all the amazing LMS participants who took part in this year’s Your Entrepreneur Scheme (YES) competition! YES provides early-career researchers the opportunity to prepare a business plan for a hypothetical company providing them with key enterprise skills for their future

In addition to developing business skills, YES encourages creative thinking, teaches communication skills and provides a space for networking, helping commercial and professional networks to blossom.

The innovation, dedication and teamwork of the participants exemplifies the team science ethos integral to the culture here at the LMS.

The three teams from the LMS were:

- Aptametrix (Aida Sanchez Ricol, Anno Koetje, Jeong Seihee, Mariana Veiga, Niki Isima and Richard Bartlett)

- ScentReset (Jane Bennett, Luc-Alban Vuillemenot, Milly Coxhead, Sanjana Saravanan and Stephen Rong)

- PhenoPhase (A’ishah Shaikh, Minna Xu, Monika Kyliotaityte, Phoebe Hopper and Shamin Tahasildar).

A special shout-out goes to PhenoPhase, who have been named finalists in the biomedical category and will compete in the finals in January! 🏆

08/12/2025

We’re pleased to introduce Keshava Datta as our new Head of Proteomics at the LMS.
Keshava joins us with more than 14 years of experience in mass-spectrometry-based proteomics across Australia and India, most recently working as a Proteomics Specialist at the University of Melbourne.
Keshava is also passionate about fostering the next generation of scientists and is keen to combine research support with education.
“Joining the LMS is the start of an exciting new chapter. I’m looking forward to working side by side with biologists to develop innovative, tailored workflows that drive new insights and discoveries.” Keshava Datta
Please join us in warmly welcoming Keshava to the LMS community!

05/12/2025

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting ‘Aging: From Biology to Therapeutic Opportunities’, a two-day event bringing together leading researchers from across the globe to discuss the latest advances in ageing science.

The event featured a flash talks, keynote presentations, and in-depth discussions covering everything from fundamental biological mechanisms of ageing to emerging therapeutic strategies. It was inspiring to see such a collaborative, forward-thinking community come together to share insights and explore new opportunities.

A huge thank you to all speakers and attendees, as well as to and their InterAging programme who collaborated with us to deliver this event.

We look forward to continuing the momentum and fostering further collaboration in the field of ageing research.

04/12/2025

Congratulations to for winning the prestigious award! 🎉

Alan is a postdoctoral researcher here at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science and He was recognised in the Science and Innovation category.

This honour celebrates emerging achievers who are making meaningful impact in their fields. The award also acknowledged his commitment to STEM outreach, including efforts to engage students and the wider public in science through educational activities and community engagement.

05/11/2025

What is Team Science? 👨‍🔬👩‍🔬🧑‍🔬

At the LMS we are committed to a transdisciplinary team science approach 🧬🧫🔬

By bringing together expertise from across many disciplines we can tackle big problems.

The Team Science programme at the LMS began more than two years ago. Staff were invited to workshops discussing the intersection of LMS expertise and facilities, and what projects could be tackled. These gave rise to a collection of some 500+ individual questions which were curated, categorised and prioritised. Subsequent workshops focused on narrowing down these questions into big challenges that the LMS is uniquely placed to answer with the right people and the right approach.

Watch this space for our big announcement soon!

31/10/2025

Happy Halloween!

The skull is an image of the DNA of stem cells from a mouse embryo taken by one of our postdocs, Gosia Borkowska.

The eyes of the skull are formed by the nucleus of two cells, while the surrounding ‘bones’ are chromosomes that are preparing for cell division.

The cells have been fixed (chemically preserved) in paraformaldehyde and then stained with a dye called DAPI, which can enter both fixed and live cells, to bind the DNA so we can visualise the genetic material.

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http://lms.mrc.ac.uk/

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