MRC Toxicology Unit

Leading science for better health

Hodgkin Building
PO Box 138
Lancaster Road, Leicester
LE1 9HN, UK
SatNav Users: Using this postcode will not direct you to the correct location. Please search for Lancaster Road.

Unit Director: Professor Anne Willis
In line with the mission of MRC and the principles by which the Unit was created, the current research programmes and interprogramme facilities are focused on the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for cell dysfunction and death, which are common to disease and toxic states.

MRC Toxicology Unit

Hodgkin Building
PO Box 138
Lancaster Road, Leicester
LE1 9HN (SATNAV users please use LE1 7HB),UK.
Click for Map or Air, Bus & Train Routes

Tel: +44 (0)116 252 5544
Fax: +44 (0)116 252 5616
Director: Professor Anne Willis

In line with the mission of MRC and the principles by which the Unit was created, the current research programmes and interprogramme facilities are focused on the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for cell dysfunction and death, which are common to disease and toxic states.
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Welcome to the MRC Toxicology Unit

The mission of the MRC Toxicology Unit is to deliver field-changing mechanistic insights into toxicology and disease. The Unit pursues an integrated scientific programme, using an unbiased systems approach to examine the effects that occur following cellular exposure to chemicals, radiation and external biological agents. This detailed analysis allows the development of new models that are better able to predict adverse drug reactions and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of diseases that are associated with toxic exposure. The research in the Unit impacts directly on human health, with implications for reducing adverse drug reactions, drug attrition and bring new insights leading to novel treatments for disease. The Unit interacts closely with Industry and related stakeholders.

Please click below for a video describing how microRNAs control gene expression,
published on the 5th April 2013 in the journal Science.

MRC Toxicology Unit Leicester – MRC Centenary Event

Saturday 22nd June 2013 – 10 am to 3.30pm

To celebrate 100 years of the MRC, the Toxicology Unit will be holding a Centenary Open Day.

Activities include:

Ballet

The MRC has collaborated with students of the prestigious Northern Ballet School in Manchester as part of its Outreach programme. Students have been learning how cells move, how they are created and live and die, and the concepts underlying the development of cancer and its treatment.

Over the past 6 months, 30 students have worked to translate their learning into a 30-minute performance which follows a single life, from its origins and complex patterns of embryonic development, through to adulthood. In adulthood, cancer develops, but is successfully treated with drugs, which the MRC has played a part in developing.

Tickets for this performance will be free but in limited numbers for pre-booking before the day.

Lab activities

CSI-MRC: Solve a murder that has happened in a laboratory with DNA fingerprinting.

Learning and memory games: How learning and memory tests are used in relation to neurological disorders.

Malaria: examining the lifecycle of this deadly disease and the search for a cure.

Electron microscopy: Exploring a variety of samples with an electron microscope, showing objects at a high magnification and in finer detail.

Talks

Dispelling the Vampire myth.
Interaction of drugs and chemicals in some genetic illnesses and disorders?

Malaria: An ancient killer, a modern cure?
A presentation on malaria, it’s history, the devastating effect of this disease and if modern science can help cure it.

Decoding cancer.
Examining cancer and the possible use of new technologies to bring new breakthroughs in the search for a cure.

Ask the Scientist
A chance to pose questions to scientists at different stages of their careers, whether the questions are about research, careers or general science. An address to send questions to will be launched soon.