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Welcome to the MRC Toxicology Unit

The Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit is a leading International Research Institute within the School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge. The Unit delivers mechanistic toxicology research, pursuing hypothesis-driven toxicological questions with a particular focus on the study of the causal links between exposure to endogenous and exogenous toxicants, molecular initiating events and adverse outcome pathways. The Unit's overall aims are to carry out pioneering research which leads to improved health and to train and mentor the next generation of toxicologists.

 

Professor Anne Willis is Director of the MRC Toxicology Unit.  Anne was appointed as a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation in 2015, and in 2017 awarded an OBE for services to biomedical sciences and supporting the careers of women scientists.

 

     Professor Anne Willis OBE

News

The Toxicology Unit joins two events at the Cambridge Festival

4 April 2025

Last week 25 researchers from the MRC Toxicology Unit took part in two events for the 2025 edition of the Cambridge Festival to share exciting facts about science and engage families with our research. CamFest-25.png The Cambr idge Festival is an annual event that was started over 20 years ago by scientists from the...

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Unit comes together at our Annual Science Day

28 November 2024

Earlier this month, all Unit colleagues came together to celebrate our science and achievements over the last year. This year we had talks from each of our Group Leaders who shared overviews of the direction of their group's work, as well as a handful of talks from postdoctoral researchers and PhD students about their...

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A tale of two strands: how DNA strand asymmetry affects damage, repair and mutation rates

12 June 2024

From snowflakes and sunflowers, to butterflies and humans, symmetry is abundant throughout nature . There is also an elegant symmetry to the double helix structure of DNA – the blueprint of life. Yet, many of the DNA’s functions are asymmetrical: only one strand is needed for certain cellular processes, and some key...

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Art and science come together to showcase Toxicology Unit research

16 September 2024

Throughout 2024, members of the public have been invited into the Toxicology Unit to create prints based on their interpretations of our research. In collaboration with Curwen Print Study Centre, we hosted five printmaking workshops between March and September. Each workshop was hosted by a different researcher who...

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Current vacancies

Explore all opportunities currently open across the Unit on our recruitment page.