Our research infrastructure
Our long-term investment in state-of-the-art facilities has helped to create a thriving network of research at 90 institutions in more than 40 towns and cities across the UK.
At CRUK we recognise the crucial role that infrastructure plays in creating a dynamic and responsive research environment. Our infrastructure provides capabilities across the full breadth of cancer research and the translational pipeline, from basic biology research through to the delivery of late-phase clinical trials, and supports close partnerships with universities and the NHS.
Explore our capabilities below, or view our facilities by geographical location
Our Institutes
Our four core-funded research institutes provide an exceptional environment for discovery science, and have an outstanding track record including four Nobel Prize winners. More than a third of our research spend goes to our institutes, funding over 120 research groups across the breadth of cancer science, supported by state-of-the-art facilities.
Alongside the CRUK Beatson Institute in Glasgow, the CRUK Cambridge Institute and the CRUK Manchester Institute, we're partners in the multidisciplinary Francis Crick Institute in London – Europe’s largest single-location biomedical research institute.
Our Centres
Our network of 15 translational research centres drives local collaborations between universities, NHS hospitals, and other research organisations. Together, they operate as a network which plays a key role in delivering our strategic objectives in translational research, with different centres contributing their expertise in different tumour sites and research themes.
We award centre status to locations performing the highest quality cancer research, and we provide over £200 million of infrastructure investment funding across the network for technical staff, equipment, training and running costs, developing the breadth and depth of research at each of these centres.
Our Centre for Drug Development
Our Centre for Drug Development (CDD) translates today's science into tomorrow's medicine. The CDD is unique as a charity-funded drug development group, with over 100 scientists and operational staff providing full capabilities across pre-clinical and early-phase development.
The CDD is a centre of excellence providing expertise and facilities to the academic research community and also partnering with industry to accelerate early phase drug development.
Our Open Lab Initiative
Our Open Lab Initiative encourages CRUK Centre Network research groups, CRUK-funded laboratories, and other groups undertaking cancer-related research, to hold joint group meetings online. Our aim is to connect research groups with similar interests and expertise from across the UK.
- The first step in meeting your future new collaborators is to simply express your interest in the Initiative by completing our Expression of Interest form.
- You will then receive a link giving you full access to the Initiative's SharePoint site.
- Once you have access to the site, you will be asked to provide details of your research group's interests and expertise, and some information on what you're looking for from a match. We will then use this information to match you with another research group to hold a joint, virtual group meeting. Alternatively, you can add your research group to our Open Register to allow others to match with you directly.
If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please email the Open Lab Initiative Team at openlab@cancer.org.uk
Our network around the UK
Explore our network by geographical location and by the type of facilities that we fund.
