BBSRC investment in Babraham Institute

Today the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) announced new investment of £319M to support world-leading bioscience research in the UK. The funding is confirmed until the end of this spending review period and then indicative, depending on the BBSRC’s future allocations.

The Babraham Institute has been awarded £48.2M which will support three strategic research programmes which each seek to better understand the biological processes which underpin healthy ageing.  Improvements in medical care, nutrition and sanitation have extended the human lifespan, however this has not been matched by gains in health span, thus innovative scientific research is required to address this societal grand challenge.

The Institute’s research will focus on:

1. Epigenetics in development and ageing - will explore how our epigenome changes as we get older and in response to our environment and lifestyle.
2. Understanding the immune system to extend health span - will study the biological mechanisms that control the development and function of our immune system and how this declines as we age.
3. Molecular mechanisms underpinning healthy ageing - which aims to understand the biological processes in the body that play key roles in keeping us healthy throughout the lifespan.  

Professor Michael Wakelam, Institute Director commented: ‘The Babraham Institute looks forward to progressing our world-leading research to uncover a greater understanding of the biological processes underpinning development and healthy ageing’