National Institute for Medical Research
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| Abbreviation | NIMR |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1913 |
| Legal status | Government agency |
| Purpose | Biological research |
| Location |
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Region served
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United Kingdom |
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Membership
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240 scientists |
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Director
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Prof Jim Smith |
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Parent organization
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Medical Research Council (MRC) |
| Affiliations | BBSRC, WHO, NHS, Dstl |
| Website | www.nimr.mrc.ac.uk |
The National Institute for Medical Research (commonly abbreviated to NIMR), is a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of London, England. It is principally funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), and is its largest establishment and one of only three designated as an 'Institute'.
In 2016, the NIMR began its migration to the new Francis Crick Institute, constructed next to St Pancras railway station in the Camden area of central London.
The Medical Research Council, founded in 1913, was immediately charged with establishing a central research institute in London. Later that year, premises at Hampstead were acquired and the National Institute for Medical Research was founded.
However, the outbreak of World War I soon afterwards postponed occupation of the building, although senior staff were appointed and began work. By 1920 the Institute at Mount Vernon Hospital was fully operational and remained so for 30 years until the move to its current location at Mill Hill. The original Institute, under the directorship of Sir Henry Dale, had three divisions:
Dale oversaw a period of considerable success at NIMR, including the discovery of the human influenza virus in 1933 and the discovery of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, for which Dale himself received the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
In the 1930s, the decision was made to move the Institute to new premises. An imposing copper-roofed building at Mill Hill was designed by Maxwell Ayrton, the architect of the original Wembley Stadium, and construction began in 1937. Occupation was delayed when war broke out in 1939 and the building was given to the Women's Royal Naval Service. The building was returned to the MRC in autumn 1949 but Dale had retired in 1942 and so was never director on the new site, that job falling to his successor Sir Charles Harington.
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