The Medical Research Council (MRC) is the UK’s largest public funder of biomedical research. It promotes and supports research and postgraduate training in all areas of biomedical science with the aims of maintaining and improving human health and contributing to national wealth and quality of life. The research it supports and the scientists it trains meet the needs of the health services, the pharmaceutical and other health-related industries and the academic world.

Working relationships
The MRC is a non-departmental public body, established by Royal Charter and accountable to Parliament. It is funded by the UK taxpayer through Parliament via the Office of Science and Technology.

Working through its Council, scientific boards, and committees, the MRC is independent in its choice of which research to support. However, it maintains a strategic dialogue with users and beneficiaries of its research – in particular the Department of Health, the NHS, other Government departments and industry – to identify and respond to current and future health needs. The MRC also works in close partnership with the other Research Councils, research charities, and organisations abroad.

Research structure and funding
The MRC has three major Institutes: the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR, Mill Hill, London); the Laboratory of Molecular Biology; (LMB, Cambridge), and the Clinical Sciences Centre (CSC, Hammersmith Hospital, London). In addition, there are 29 smaller MRC Units, an MRC Health Services Research Collaboration and eight grant-funded Centres, most of which are attached to higher education institutions and hospitals throughout the UK. The MRC also has laboratories overseas, in The Gambia and Uganda.

The MRC’s total expenditure in 2002/03 was £430m. £200.7m of this was spent on work in MRC research centres, and £194.9m on grants to researchers in universities and medical schools (including postgraduate training awards and fellowships).