News

With the recent news about personalised cancer vaccines that use mRNA technology, Unit Director Anne Willis joined Tom Whipple on BBC Inside Science to discuss whether the era of the cancer vaccine is, at last, upon us and what this all means.Listen to the episode on BBC Sounds here.

MRC Toxicology Unit researchers have shown how commonly-used sweeteners slow the growth of certain gut bacteria. One sweetener in particular – isosteviol – when combined with the anti-depressant duloxetine significantly impaired two important gut bacteria linked to regulating blood sugar and gut health and may affect the body’s immune responses.

From 6th–9th July, the MRC Toxicology Unit welcomed students and speakers from across the UK for the annual Integrative Toxicology Training Partnership (ITTP) Summer School. The week was packed with student presentations, expert lectures, career development sessions and networking opportunities, providing an inspiring and collaborative environment …

The Patil lab have collaborated with Tanmay Bharat's group at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) to combine cryo-EM and mass spectrometry imaging capabilities into a single workflow provides unprecedented spatial and chemical composition detail of biological samples.

Unit Director, Prof Anne Willis, has been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.Anne is one of 60 new Fellows announced today. She joins a group of the UK’s leading figures within biomedical and health sciences who have been selected for their outstanding contributions to advancing medical science, cutting edge research discoveries…

Prof Kiran Patil, Group Leader at the Unit and Co-Founder of Cambiotics, has been recognised as a Highly Commended finalist in the Researcher of the Year category at the 2026 Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards.

Researchers from the MRC Toxicology Unit attended last week’s British Toxicology Society (BTS) Congress in Solihull, a key annual event that brings together experts from across toxicology and safety science, spanning academia, industry, and regulatory sectors.The meeting provided an excellent platform for early career researchers from the Unit to p…

The Patil group is part of a new collaboration between groups in the US, Japan, Australia, and the UK that aims to understand how changes to our gut microbiome in early life impact neurodevelopment. The project is supported by Wellcome Leap as a part of their Foundation Of a Resilient Microbiome (FORM) initiative. The Patil group will investigate t…

Tyler Myers, an MPhil Candidate in the Patil lab at the Unit, reports back from the Royal Society of Biology’s Voice of the Future event at Parliament, where he served as a guest panelist representing Applied Microbiology International. 

Researchers from the MRC Toxicology Unit returned to the Cambridge Festival 2026 last week to engage school students and families with our research.The Cambridge Festival is an annual event coordinated by the University of Cambridge’s Public Engagement team. It is a multi-disciplinary festival with a mixture of online, on-demand and in-person event…

Researchers in the Patil group have found that culturing bacteria together profoundly changes how each species behaves. They performed over a hundred different combinations of two species, observed changes in metabolism and discovered the activation of genetic ‘dark matter’.Our intestine houses a rich community of bacteria and other microorganisms …

Rob Bradley, a research associate in the Patil group, recently took part in the Dementia and Parkinson’s Disease Open Day, a meeting held at Addenbrooke’s Hospital with patients and their relatives. Rob shares what the meeting was about and how he found the experience:Attending the PD Open Dayby Rob BradleyFor the past 6 months, I have collaborated…

Prof Kiran Patil is featured in Episode 1 of BBC Radio 4's three-episode series Toxic!. This episode titled 'A Recipe for Disaster?' explores the world of PFAS also known as 'forever chemicals' and Kiran shares more about the recent work from his lab and the exciting science that might one day help us flush PFAS out of our bodies more quickly.Liste…

Scientists have found that the loss of the PDCD4 protein affects cell adhesion – how cells interact and attach with neighbouring cells and structures – which could make it easier for cancer cells to detach and metastasise.PDCD4 (Programmed Cell Death Protein 4) is a well-documented tumour suppressor – a protein that helps prevent cells from becomin…

Cambiotics, a pioneering biotech company developing next-generation precision health solutions, has successfully closed a Seed investment round of EUR ~4 million with an international consortium, led by the investor Collaborative Fund, with participation from EIFO (Danish Export and Investment Fund), and True, as co-investors.Cambiotics’ approach b…