The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has invested £48m into the Babraham Institute, following a five-year review, to support core research on the key mechanisms that maintain the health of cells, tissues and organs.
Over the next four years, the institute will receive funding to support research across epigenetics, immunology and cell signalling.
The life sciences institute focuses on understanding biology in relation to maintaining health, particularly when protecting and maximising good health in the later years of life.
From 2024 to 2028, the new BBSRC investment aims to support three strategic research programmes to advance the ability to protect health and counter age-related decline, including cellular response to stress, epigenetic control across the life course, immunity, resilience and repair.
In close collaboration with partners across academia, including the BBSRC’s other strategically supported research institutes and companies based on the Babraham Research Campus, the research will be delivered via teams of international experts at the Babraham Institute.
The funding came from a wider investment worth £424m by the BBSRC to support a new portfolio of strategically important research across eight UK bioscience institutes, which was announced in May 2023.
The funding aims to significantly enhance the UK’s capability to deliver world-leading research with socio-economic impact.
Professor Guy Poppy, interim executive chair, BBSRC, commented: “[The] BBSRC’s strategic investments will help harness the power of bioscience for a healthier, more resilient future,” of which “the Babraham Institute is a critical component of the national and international bioscience research and innovation ecosystem”.
“From understanding the earliest steps of development to ensuring that vaccines deliver strong protection to older populations, each discovery will make a difference to human health and wellbeing,” said Dr Simon Cook, director, Babraham Institute.
Earlier this year, in January, the Babraham Institute’s Flow Cytometry facility collaborated with PlaqueTec to develop and improve treatment for coronary artery disease, a form of heart disease that is responsible for around 68,000 deaths annually in the UK.