News

David O'Loughlin, a PhD student in the MacFarlane Lab went to the prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting in Germany which this year focused on chemistry. David tells us about the meeting and how he found the experience: Attending a Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetingby David O'LoughlinIn March, I received an incredible email: after a months-long, mult…

With the news of cuts to mRNA vaccine development in the US, Unit Director Anne Willis joined Marnie Chesterton on BBC Inside Science to discuss the evidence behind vaccines.US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced plans this week to cancel $500 million dollars of funding for mRNA vaccine development. The research was focusing on trying to…

From 7th-10th July, the MRC Toxicology Unit hosted the annual Integrative Toxicology Training Partnership (ITTP) Summer School. We had a fantastic week with excellent talks and posters from students, expert lectures and workshops from leaders in the field, insightful careers advice and great networking opportunities. The MRC Integrative Toxicology …

Researchers in the Patil Lab at the MRC Toxicology Unit have contributed liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) data to a new study that has mapped changes to killifish brains that occur in ageing. The research, published in Science found that there are problems translating mRNA to protein at the translation elongation stage. DNA -> mRNA -…

The UK Proteostasis Network, launched by The Babraham Institute in 2024 with support from the Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge and the MRC Toxicology Unit has been awarded a £600,000 Network Grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). This grant will support the development of the UK Proteostasi…

During June, the MRC Toxicology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Department of Pharmacology, and the Gurdon Institute joined together for Pride Month with a series of events to support LGBTQIA+ staff and students. This is part of a new a new phase of collaboration among the Departments on Tennis Court road to encourage students and staff to get to…

The Unit once again took part in the Aspiring Scientists Training Programme (ASTP), a work experience scheme for high achieving STEM studying students from state schools. Three Year 12 students from around the country joined us as researchers for the week, doing everything from running flow cytometry experiments to making RNA.The first iteration of…

It was announced today that Dr Kiran Patil, Principal Investigator at the MRC Toxicology Unit, has been awarded €150,000 from the European Research Council (ERC) to develop novel live biotherapeutics for boosting cancer therapy.In this ERC funded project, Kiran’s group will use their expertise in microbial co-evolution to develop a new type of prob…

Work published by Dr Kiran Patil, alongside collaborators at the LMB, EMBL and the University of Tubingen, describing how certain species of gut bacteria can absorb PFAS was reported across multiple national and international media outlets.You can read the Unit's news article and/or the paper, published in Nature Microbiology, for more details. Exa…

Researchers in the Patil Lab have discovered that certain species of bacteria found in the human gut can take in and store PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’. Boosting these species in our gut microbiome could be a new way to protect us from the harmful effects of PFAS.Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in wide range of produ…

Scientists in the Patil lab at the MRC Toxicology Unit have identified that some drugs and environmental contaminants alter bacterial amine metabolism. Biogenic amines are linked to diseases including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), neurological disorders and cancer. Understanding how amine production by bacteria is affected by molecules in our env…

It was announced today that Dr James Thaventhiran, principal investigator at the MRC Toxicology Unit and clinical immunologist has received the prestigious Lister Fellowship award with £300,000 research funding commencing in October. The Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine is dedicated to supporting scientists conducting high-quality research…

Yesterday at the British Toxicology Society Congress, our Unit Director Professor Anne Willis delivered the John Barnes Prize lecture, focusing on mechanistic toxicology to improve human health. This award was established in memory of Dr John Barnes, who was the Director from the establishment of MRC Toxicology Unit in 1947 until 1975. Dr Barnes wa…

Researchers at the MRC Toxicology Unit have identified that the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole shows similar gastrointestinal side effects in fruit flies as in humans. For the first time they linked the mitochondria damaging effects of aripiprazole to death of the cells lining the intestine. Feeding the flies with an antioxidant supplement along w…

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.The Cambridge Festival is an annual event that was started over 20 years ago by scientists from the University of Cambridge. The festival hosts a wid…