1. Talk title Name Medical Research Council Date
Slide owners: Editorial and Publishing Team

2. MRC mission
Encourage and support high-quality research with the aim of improving human health.
Produce skilled researchers.
Advance and disseminate knowledge and technology to improve the quality of life and economic competitiveness in the UK and worldwide.
Promote dialogue with the public about medical research.
This is our mission as reproduced from our Royal Charter. In the third point, “and worldwide” is added to reflect that the MRC leads on global health research.
Slide owners: Editorial and Publishing Team

3. MRC history
The Medical Research Committee and Advisory Council was set up in 1913, initiating its own research programmes and funding research by outside bodies or individuals.
Became the Medical Research Council in 1918 and received a Royal Charter. The ‘Haldane Principle’, that the MRC should make scientific decisions independently from government, was also first proposed in 1918.
The first central research institute was established. It later became the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), opening in London in 1920.
The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology opened in Cambridge in 1962.
The Francis Crick Institute opened near Kings Cross in 2016
Slide owners: Editorial and Publishing Team

4. MRC discoveries and developments
Rickets caused by lack of vitamin D (1916)
Discovery and development of penicillin (1940s)
Pioneered randomised controlled trial design (1940s)
Discovery of link between smoking and cancer (1950s)
Clinical trials for radiotherapy for cancer (1960s)
Clinical trials of chemotherapy for leukaemia (1970s)
Invention of DNA fingerprinting (1980s)
Gene for Huntington’s disease discovered (1990s)
Humanised therapeutic antibodies in widespread use (2000s)
Treating age-related macular degeneration with stem cells (2010s)
Slide owners: Editorial and Publishing Team

5. MRC Strategic Plan 2014-2019 Research Changes Lives 2014-2019
Strategic intent: to support excellent discovery science and partnerships to promote translation to accelerate the pace of improvements in health and wealth.
Strategic Aim One: Picking research that delivers Setting research priorities which are most likely to deliver improved health outcomes
Strategic Aim Two: Research to people Bringing the benefits of excellent research to all sections of society
Strategic Aim Three: Going global Accelerating progress in international health research
Strategic Aim Four: Supporting scientists Sustaining a robust and flourishing environment for world-class research
Strategic Aim One
Picking research that delivers: Setting research priorities which are most likely to deliver improved health outcomes
Research priority theme one: Resilience, repair and replacement
Natural protection – to explore resilience to disease and degeneration, understanding how it may be exploited for new inventions that ameliorate disease processes
Tissue disease and degeneration – to advance knowledge in the biology of ageing and degeneration of human tissue; to understand the mechanism and impact of chronic inflammation
Mental health and well-being – to explore the relationship between mental health, wellbeing and resilience to disease processes
Repair and replacement – to translate the burgeoning knowledge in regenerative medicine into new treatment strategies
Research priority theme two: Living a long and healthy life
Genetics and disease – to use genetics, imaging and biological indicators to understand predispositions for disease, and to target treatments to disease subtypes
Life course perspective – to drive forward interdisciplinary research addressing health and wellbeing from childhood to older age
Lifestyles affecting health – to determine the most effective strategies for tackling lifestyles that are detrimental to health
Environment and health – to explore the impacts of changes in our environment on health and wellbeing
Strategic Aim Two
Research to people: Bringing the benefits of excellent research to all sections of society
Securing impact from medical research
Regulation, ethics, governance and working with decision-makers – to uphold and guide ethical research practice and the highest standards of research governance; to enhance the regulatory process by providing innovative approaches
Communication – to enhance communication with the scientists, the public, policy-makers and partners
Strategic Aim Three
Going global: Accelerating progress in international health research
Partnerships and shaping the agenda – to provide international leadership in partnerships which enhance the competitiveness of the UK knowledge and health base
Global health – to support global health research that addresses the inequalities in health which arise particularly in developing countries
Strategic Aim Four
Supporting scientists: Sustaining a robust and flourishing environment for world-class medical research
Capacity – to strengthen and sustain a skilled research workforce through targeted support for excellent training and the development of world-class research leaders
Use of population-based data – to exploit fully the complexity and benefits of population-based data; to maximise sharing and linkage of data, and to develop data collection and storage
Research environment – to provide a world-class research environment
Slide owners: Editorial and Publishing Team

6. Strategic Aim One Picking research that delivers
Setting research priorities which are most likely to deliver improved health outcomes
Research priority theme one: Resilience, repair and replacement
Natural protection
Tissue disease and degeneration
Mental health and wellbeing
Repair and replacement
Research priority theme two: Living a long and healthy life
Molecular datasets and disease
Life course perspective
Lifestyles affecting health
Environment and health
Strategic Aim One
Picking research that delivers: Setting research priorities which are most likely to deliver improved health outcomes
Research priority theme one: Resilience, repair and replacement
Natural protection – to explore resilience to disease and degeneration, understanding how it may be exploited for new inventions that ameliorate disease processes
Tissue disease and degeneration – to advance knowledge in the biology of ageing and degeneration of human tissue; to understand the mechanism and impact of chronic inflammation
Mental health and well-being – to explore the relationship between mental health, wellbeing and resilience to disease processes
Repair and replacement – to translate the burgeoning knowledge in regenerative medicine into new treatment strategies
Research priority theme two: Living a long and healthy life
Molecular datasets and disease – to use genetics, imaging and biological indicators to understand predispositions for disease, and to target treatments to disease subtypes
Life course perspective – to drive forward interdisciplinary research addressing health and wellbeing from childhood to older age
Lifestyles affecting health – to determine the most effective strategies for tackling lifestyles that are detrimental to health
Environment and health – to explore the impacts of changes in our environment on health and wellbeing
Slide owners: Editorial and Publishing Team

7. MRC investment in research, 2016/17
MRC gross research expenditure - £755.5m in 2016/17
£358.3m on grants to researchers in universities, medical schools and research institutes.
£159.1m on programmes within the MRC’s own units and institutes including £4.9m on studentships.
£160.3m on programmes within university units, including transfer of property, plant and equipment with a net book value of £19.1m.
£60.7m on studentships and fellowships in universities, medical schools and research establishments.
£17.1m for international subscriptions.
MRC Investment in Research, 2016/17
In 2016/17 the MRC’s gross research expenditure, funded by our BEIS budgetary allocation and contributions from other bodies, was £755.5m, compared to £927.8m in 2015/16. The support for world-class medical research to improve human health and enhance the economic competitiveness of the UK included:
• £358.3m on grants to researchers in universities, medical schools and research institutes.
• £159.1m on programmes within the MRC’s own units and institutes including £4.9m on studentships.
• £160.3m on programmes within university units, including transfer of property, plant and equipment with a net book value of £19.1m.
• £60.7m on studentships and fellowships in universities, medical schools and research establishments.
• £17.1m for international subscriptions.
Source: MRC Annual Report 2016/17 (p22)
Notes on using the slide
Text is based on Facts and figures summary in the 2016/17 annual report which is also copied on the website.
Clinical Research Infrastructure Initiative: £169m awarded to 18 higher education institutions and consortia to support 34 projects which began in The initiative received funding from the Department of Health, the Welsh Government, Northern Ireland’s Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the British Heart Foundation and Arthritis Research UK.
Slide updated August 2017 by Becky Smith with information provided by Michael Cherrington
Source: MRC Annual Report 2016/17 (p22)

8. MRC locations In the UK: 5 institutes 26 units 21 centres/partnerships
2 overseas units:
The Gambia
Uganda
Anne-Marie Philp updated 21/09/2107
MRC Large Investments - as of 31 March 2017
(figures match the 2016/17 Annual Report)
MRC’s large investments encompasses:
5 Institutes (3 in partnership with other funders: the Francis Crick Institute (FCI), UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) and the Health Data Research UK (HDR UK)],
26 units (including two research units in Africa) and
21 centres.
(these are portrayed on the map)
These include partnerships with the Alzheimer’s Society; Alzheimer’s Research UK; Arthritis Research UK; Asthma UK; British Heart Foundation; Cancer Research UK; Chief Scientist Office, Scotland; Public Health England, Wellcome and the Welsh Government.
The MRC also has an additional portfolio of strategic partnerships and hubs including five UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) Public Health Research Centres, the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy, the Research Complex at Harwell, the MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, five methodology hubs, three high-throughput genomic sequencing hubs and the Farr Institute for Health Informatics Research.

9. MRC funding by HRCS research activity
See page 27 in 16/17 annual report –
MRC-funded research builds on its strengths in supporting high quality fundamental discovery science and
promoting excellence in research to improve the health and wellbeing of society. This balance is seen in the
2015/16 HRCS classification of the MRC portfolio. Two-thirds (70 per cent) of the MRC’s research
expenditure contributes to studies on underlying biological processes and on the causal components
of disease (coded as Underpinning and Aetiology in HRCS). The further third of expenditure focuses on
‘translational activities’ (detection and diagnosis, treatment evaluation and treatment development). Changes in
proportions of expenditure for a research area in a given year reflect the strategic funding shifts in response to
research needs. The significant increase in detection and diagnosis research expenditure in 2015/16 marks the
focused spend to enhance the equipment, facilities and capabilities for UK clinical research through the Clinical
Research Capabilities and Technologies Initiative launched in Efficient implementation of this investment
has brought these complex facilities on line by 2016 to support research into major health challenges (as
indicated in the Performance summary page 18). Research in the subject areas of management of disease and
health and social care services are a small part of the MRC portfolio as they are heavily supported by NIHR and
other patient-care focused funders

10. MRC spend by health category, 2016/17
Spend by health category: data provided by Phil Edwards
Slide updated by Debs Barber September 2017

11. MRC Council and committees
The Council is the MRC’s governing body and directs and oversees corporate policy, deciding all issues of major importance.
Membership consists of the Chair, the Chief Executive and Deputy Chair, and normally 12 other members, at least half of whom are appointed on account of their scientific qualification.
The Council has four subcommittees made up of Council members and other expert members:
Council Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (CARAC)
Ethics, Regulation and Public Involvement Committee (ERPIC)
Nominations Committee (NomCom)
Remuneration Committee (RemCom)
Council members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in accordance with the code of practice issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

12. MRC structure Council Strategy Board
Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board
Population and Systems Medicine Board
Infections and Immunity
Board
Neurosciences and Mental Health
Board
Translation
Panels
MRP, EME
Biomedical Catalyst
(DPFS, CIC
MAC)
Population Health Sciences Group
Translational Research Group
Training
Panels
Skills
Clinical
Non-clinical
Strategy Board: Sets top-level strategy, budgets and special initiatives
Research Boards: Funding projects, programmes, units, assessing performance, strategy development and implementation
Overview groups: Steering delivery and strategy, cross-board monitoring
Executive Board (not pictured) ensures delivery
Also not pictured: Wider cross-funder initiatives.
Updated by Heike Weber – 27/09/2017
Global Health Group
Training and Careers Group

13. UK Government Departments
Partnership working
UK Government Departments
OSCHR
Innovate UK
Research community
Public
MRC LifeArc
NIHR
UK Clinical Research Collaboration
Funding Councils
Parliamentarians Policy-makers
Learned societies
Universities
Industry
Partnerships are key:
We can achieve more when working with others
A great deal of research is now conducted on a scale that is not achievable by a single funding body or country, for example, large facilities such as Research Complex at Harwell.
Can mention UKRI but slide will be updated to included them once they become a legal identity in April 2018
Slide update by Tony Peatfield 20/09/2017
International
Research Councils
Medical charities
Patients and carers
NHS

14. Coordinated public sector health research strategy
HM Treasury
BEIS DH
OSCHR
Devolved Administrations
MRC
NIHR
Can mention UKRI but this slide will be updated with UKRI information once it becomes a legal identity in April 2018
Update from Tony Peatfield 20/09/2017
Research
Funding flow
Policy input

15. Strategic Aim Two Research to people
Bringing the benefits of excellent research to all sections of society
Securing impact from medical research
Regulation, ethics, governance and working with decision-makers
Engagement
Strategic Aim Two
Research to people: Bringing the benefits of excellent research to all sections of society
Securing impact from medical research – to deliver discovery from data to improve public health and UK wealth; to reshape the medical research and innovation ecocsystem to deliver inwards investment and promote added value and economic growth; and to deliver fundamantal insights that grow medical businesses.
Regulation, ethics, governance and working with decision-makers – to uphold and guide ethical research practice and the highest standards of research governance; to enhance the regulatory framework for medical research by providing innovative approaches.
Communication – to enhance engagement and communication with our scientists and partners, policy-makers and parliamentarians, and the public.

16. Economic benefits
There were more than 1,300 products and interventions in development between 2006 and 2017.
Creation or growth of 185 companies between 2006 and 2017.
There were 849 patents granted or published between 2006 and 2017, with around 27 per cent licensed.
34 per cent of the MRC’s further funding came from outside of the UK – this equates to over £2.3 billion since Seven per cent of the MRC’s further funding came from the private sector – over £470m.
MRC researchers have reported embarking on over 20,000 unique collaborations since 2006 – Ten per cent of these are with industry partners.
These data are from MRC researchfish® 2017 and relate specifically to achievements in the period Figures for Collaborations with the Private Sector, Further Funding Outside the UK and Private Sector Funding is correct as of 19/09/17 but will change as more complete data emerges shortly.
Slide updated by Buddhini Samarasinghe September 2017

17. Public engagement
Researchers reported that over 38,000 separate engagement activities took place between 2006 and 2017.
Public: 28 per cent
Other academic audiences: 11 per cent
Health professionals: 7 per cent
Schools: 11 per cent
Patient groups and study participants: 7 per cent
Media: 8 per cent
Policymakers and parliamentarians: 5 per cent
Postgrad students: 3 per cent
Undergraduate students: 1 per cent
Data from researchfish® Does not include studentship data from researchfish®
Slide updated by Buddhini Samarasinghe September 2017.

18. Strategic Aim Three Going global
Accelerating progress in international health research via:
International partnerships and shaping the agenda
Global health
Shaping the agenda
Managing research council for the RCUK offices in Beijing, Delhi and Washington.
UK lead on health for H2020 Programme Committee.
Partner in the Joint Programme for Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Intramural funding (The Gambia, Uganda and UK) and extramural grants.
Managing the joint MRC/Wellcome Trust/DFID clinical trials scheme and co-founder of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases.
International partnerships and shaping the agenda: To provide international leadership in partnerships which enhance the competitiveness of the UK knowledge and health base and to influence the international research agenda.
Global health: to support global health research that addresses the inequalities in health which arise particularly in developing countries.

19. Strategic Aim Four Supporting scientists
Sustaining a robust and flourishing environment for world class medical research
Capacity and skills
Research environment
More than 3,205 people employed in MRC units and institutes
1,398 studentships and 80 new fellowships
Supporting 2,811 researchers in 113 HEIs across the UK
Strategic Aim Four
Supporting scientists: Sustaining a robust and flourishing environment for world-class medical research
Capacity and skills – to train and develop the next generation of biomedical research leaders by supporting outstanding individuals at crucial points in their research careers, aligned to national strategic skills objectives.
Research environment – to provide a world-class research environment for medical research.
3,205 employees in institutes and units: 16/17 Annual Report, p70
1,398 studentships and awarded 80 new fellowships: 16/17 Annual Report, p19
Supporting 2,811 researchers in 113 Higher Education Institutions across the UK: 16/17 Annual Report, p18

20. The Francis Crick Institute
The MRC, the Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, University College London, King’s College London and Imperial College London.
Opened September 2016
“Its goal is be to understand the basic biology underlying human health, driving forward better treatment and prevention of the most significant diseases affecting people today.”
– The Crick’s scientific vision and research strategy
Quote taken from page 1:

21. Final slide to include logo in top left