Our People
At the Babraham Institute, we believe that the best science comes from a diverse and inclusive community of people that work together, support each other and have a healthy work-life balance. We’re committed to supporting all our staff to do their best work and to advance their careers in ways that work for them. Find out more about what’s available here on Campus and the opportunities all our staff, students and visitors have access to.
The Babraham Institute is governed by our Board of Trustees. Our community includes a wide range of people with different skills and expertise. In addition to our research groups and science facility teams, the Institute employs various support staff including administrators as well as nursery staff, engineers, technicians and more.
Each year we welcome around 100 visiting researchers as well as a variety of apprentices, summer placement & Erasmus+ students, internships and work-experience students. Visit our Vacancies pages or get in contact to find out more about potential opportunities.
Many Institute scientists receive funding through grants provided by the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), in addition to our Strategic Programme Grants this includes several PhD studentships funded through BBSRC DTP awards. Other sources include funding from the Wellcome Trust, other Research Councils, medical charities, the European Commission and through partnerships with Industry.
Group Leaders
The Institute has around 20 Group Leaders and each one manages a team of scientists investigating specific research questions. Often our groups work together or collaborate with other scientists to share expertise and make new discoveries sooner.
Staff Researchers
All of our research groups are made up of scientists with different skills and expertise who each contribute to specific projects within their group. These scientists include post-doctoral researchers, staff scientists, research associates and fellows.
Students
Becoming a research student is the first step in an academic research career. Students are mentored by a Group Leader and normally spend three to four years developing their research skills before writing up their work and being examined on it. Our students are part of the University of Cambridge.
Facility Staff
The Institute’s facilities employ teams of scientists and technicians that are highly skilled in specific research techniques and approaches. They work with our researchers as well as other organisations to perform experiments and collect high-quality research data.
Core & Support Staff
The Institute has many additional teams that help to keep everything running and support our scientists in their work. In addition to core functions, this includes the staff of the Babraham Nursery who provide childcare for researchers with young children.
Alumni
The Institute has over 70 years of history since we were first set up in 1948. In that time a lot of people have worked here at the Institute. We’re keen to stay in touch with our Alumni and to hear about how their careers develop after they leave. Discover some of their stories here.
Technician Commitment
The Babraham Institute is a signatory of the Technician Commitment. This means that we have pledged our commitment to recognising the technical expertise contributed by skilled professionals filling roles across the Institute. As part of this commitment, we have worked with our technical specialist community to develop an action plan to identify and address the key challenges affecting technical staff and completed a self-assessment to demonstrate the progress made. You can read the action plan and self-assessment document on our Technician Commitment page.