The Medical Research Council Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology is a centre for research into fundamental aspects of cell function and their links to human disease. The Institute is located in the heart of the Gower Street Campus of University College London (UCL) and currently houses 15 research groups funded by the MRC, Cancer Research UK, The Royal Society, The Wellcome Trust and University College London. The Medical Research Council opened the Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB) on the Gower Street Campus of University College London (UCL) in 1993 under the leadership of Professor Colin Hopkins.
The scientific aim of the LMCB & Cell Biology Unit is to provide a molecular understanding of cell behaviour through discovery-based research. Cell biology is one of the most exciting and important areas of biomedical research and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Major human diseases such as cancer, inflammation, neuro-degeneration and bacterial/viral infection are primarily diseases of cells, and without a molecular understanding of the underlying cell biology, intelligent directed therapeutic intervention is impossible. Our philosophy is that multi-disciplinarity is an essential ingredient for promoting imaginative and innovative discoveries in cell biology. The LMCB has developed an overall programme of research that is diverse yet synergistic and has achieved this by maintaining a balance of complementary areas of cell biology, recruiting the best possible groups in these areas and facilitating integration across the Unit and non-Unit groups as well as the wider UCL community. The current scientific strengths of the LMCB & CBU divide roughly into four general biological themes: cytoskeleton, protein trafficking & signal transduction, polarity & morphogenesis and the cell cycle. This work has an impact on at least five important human disease areas: neuronal disorders, cancer, viral infection, inflammation and visual disorders.
