Welcome to this overview of the Institute’s achievements across 2023-2024. This period saw the Institute undergo a quinquennial review (QQR) by BBSRC in which we reported on the achievements from our 2017-2024 funding round and presented our future research vision and plans for 2024-2028. This is summarised in the following section: Life sciences research for lifelong health. You will also find feature articles on our three strategic research programmes, sharing perspectives from Gavin Kelsey (Epigenetics), Martin Turner (Immunology) and myself (Signalling).
The QQR was a huge effort from teams across the Institute and I am immensely proud of the outcomes. Our research programmes were all ranked as ‘high international’ or 'internationally leading’ and we received an award of £48m in strategic funding from BBSRC to support our research from 2024-20281. I am excited about our overarching theme of ‘proteostasis across the life course’, which connects our three research programmes and shapes our evolving global collaborations.
Beyond the QQR, this review also features more personal stories from across the Institute, sharing going further, doing more and our commitment to support success and make a difference. These demonstrate the achievements, excellence and dedication from teams within our community.
2023 and 2024 were also significant milestone years. 2023 marked the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Institute (then the Institute of Animal Physiology) in 1948 and 30 years since the Institute’s reshaping as the Babraham Institute in 1993. 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the Institute’s annual Schools’ Day – more on that in the feature: Enthuse, excite, inspire.
Our People
During 2023 and 2024 I was delighted to welcome two new appointments to the Immunology research programme. Professor Yiliang Ding became our fifth honorary group leader. Professor Ding, based at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, brings expertise on the dynamics of RNA structure and this partnership is shaping how we study gene regulation across each of the research programmes.
Professor Kai-Michael Toellner joined us in 2024 as a senior group leader. Kai’s interests in immune cell differentiation, antibody production and long-term immune memory interface strongly with several of our Immunology groups and are stimulating exciting new areas of discovery. Learn more about Kai and his research in the feature: Opening up the research toolkit.
Signalling group leader, Dr Hayley Sharpe, received tenure with unanimous recognition of her transformative research on protein tyrosine phosphatases and how they might be targeted for therapeutic use. As Chair of equity4success Hayley also led the successful renewal of the Institute’s Silver Athena Swan award for 2024-20294.
Professor Dame Linda Partridge became Chair of the Institute Board in February 2023 and we welcomed six new Trustees to the Board in September 2023, bringing scientific expertise aligned to the Institute’s research and operational expertise in personnel strategy and financial management. I would like to express my immense appreciation for the contributions from our Trustees as a whole and share my grateful thanks to the Trustees who stepped down in this period for their service and dedication: outgoing Chair Professor Peter Rigby, and Trustees Professor Peter Parker, Professor Nic Jones, Dr Lynne Gailey and Mr Geoff Braham.
Our Science
At the Institute we are united by a passion for discovery and innovation to bring benefit. These attributes were demonstrated by our success in securing four BBSRC Pioneer Awards in 2023. Awarded to Dr Ian McGough (Signalling), Dr Teresa Rayon, Dr Jon Houseley and Dr Maria Christophorou (all Epigenetics group leaders), these ambitious research projects promise paradigm-shifting progress to potentially shape therapeutic strategies to prevent protein aggregation (McGough lab), reveal the fundamental molecular mechanisms that control developmental tempo (Rayon lab), develop approaches to beat the acquisition of drug resistance in pathogenic fungi (Houseley lab) and explore the function of histone proteins as signalling messengers (Christophorou lab).
Within our Immunology programme, Dr Michelle Linterman’s research continues to uncover critical insights into the causes of diminished immune responses with age. With a BBSRC International Partnering Award, she is collaborating with the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in New Zealand to create more effective mRNA vaccines for older people. Michelle also joined the global IMMPROVE project to explore how current and future vaccines can be enhanced to provide greater protection from respiratory pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2 virus, ‘flu and respiratory syncytial virus.
Our Signalling research programme saw discoveries that provide vital underpinning knowledge for future therapeutic approaches. The David lab identified a mechanism preventing the toxic effects of protein aggregation in specific tissues of C. elegans when normal methods of molecular monitoring fail. Building on this finding may inform therapeutic interventions for diseases of protein aggregation as well as ways to prevent undesirable protein aggregation that occurs with age.
A long legacy in PI3K signalling continued with a paper by Dr Tamara Chessa (Stephens-Hawkins lab), identifying a new driver of PI3K signalling and cancer growth in a mouse model of prostate cancer. Tamara was awarded the 2023 Sir Michael Berridge Prize for this work, which provides a potential new avenue for therapeutic targeting of the PI3K signalling pathway in human cancers with minimal predicted toxicity.
In the Epigenetics research programme, the Houseley lab made exciting new discoveries about the link between diet and ageing, showing that in yeast, healthy ageing can be achieved by dietary change without caloric restriction.
Our Culture
In preparing for the Institute’s QQR we had the opportunity to reflect on our vision for a culture to enable research excellence, inclusivity and wellbeing for all. We have defined this vision as a commitment to sustain an inclusive community, in a positive environment that values dignity, inclusion, openness and integrity, for everyone to thrive and take pride in their contribution to the delivery of world-class bioscience research that benefits society.
As part of this work we undertook a culture consultation which has created a roadmap to place team science at the heart of our strategy and culture. This work underpins our commitment to provide an equitable environment, where everyone can thrive, be themselves and do their best work.
The Institute’s five strategic initiatives; equity4success, research integrity, technician commitment, wellbeing, Green Labs, are leading the way. I was very proud of the renewal of our Silver Athena Swan award and our new Technician Commitment action plan, which sets out our ambitions for 2024- 2027. The Institute’s Green Labs team, drawn from across the Institute, have been instrumental in ensuring that our science and operations are more sustainable, and this was recognised by a Platinum Green Impact award in 2024.
Our Impact
The QQR was a crucial opportunity to reflect on the impact delivered by the Institute’s fundamental research in the last cycle of strategic investment from BBSRC (2017-2024). This included:
- 745 research papers, many describing ground-breaking research and technological advances; these papers have received 48,000 citations.
- establishing a transient cellular reprogramming method that can rejuvenate cells without affecting cell identity.
- a better understanding of the cellular process of autophagy, helping researchers accurately monitor and distinguish between distinct autophagy processes in fundamental and translational research.
- significant advance in our understanding of the effects of age on the immune system and how to improve vaccines and vaccination strategies to confer better protection of the older population. This work included validation of the vaccination strategy for the Oxford – AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
- three spin-outs arising from 21 patent families: Enhanc3D Genomics, Aila Biotech and Elithium Bio.
- 73 researchers trained to PhD level and equipped to contribute to the UK’s bioeconomy through research and innovation.
In 2023-2024 we were pleased to launch the UK Proteostasis Network, bringing together researchers across the UK for exchange and collaboration. The Network’s inaugural conference was held at Babraham in May 2024 and we are excited to see the Network continue to grow and take shape.
Peter Rugg-Gunn, a senior group leader in the Epigenetics research programme and Head of Public Engagement (PE), and our PE team led a foundational public dialogue on the use of human embryos in research as part of the Human Developmental Biology Initiative (HDBI)11. The PE team also did a fantastic job in coordinating our annual summer Research Access Programme and delivering the Institute’s 30th Schools’ Day. Both activities focus on reaching underserved audiences to support equitable access to science.
The Institute is the academic heart of the Babraham Research Campus (BRC). A recent Impact study on the Campus highlighted the many ways the Institute supports the commercial success of campus companies. Beyond engaging with campus companies through consultancy, collaborations and access to our cutting-edge research facilities, there has been a fruitful shared endeavour between the Institute’s Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation (KEC) team, Babraham Institute Enterprise (BIE Ltd., the commercialisation arm of Babraham Institute) and Babraham Research Campus Ltd. to establish a thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurship, innovation and knowledge exchange. In these ways, we support innovation, accelerate translation, nurture enterprise and entrepreneurship with wider impacts for UK bioscience.