iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Welcome to our new PhD and Science Technology Graduate students! 👋🎓 We’re delighted for this brilliant group of young scientists to join the LMS. Supporting the next generation of scientists is a key part of what we do, and we can’t wait to see what they discover. 🧬🔬

The new cohort of PhD and Science Graduate students stood on a staircase

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Research culture doesn't shift on its own, it takes people pushing for change. Our postdocs are improving data management at the LMS through the Beyond Open Research programme – mapping processes, shaping how good practice is recognised & building real momentum for change. #PostdocAppreciationWeek

A group of people of varying demographics stand on a staircase smiling for a photo

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

We just wrapped up our annual Greening Competition 🌱 where teams compete to make their labs more sustainable. It ended in a tie! Congratulations to the Redox Metabolism Group and Bioinformatics and Genomics Groups, our joint Sustainability Champions. Thank you to all our groups who took part!

Four staff members from the LMS stand in front of a lab trolley with selection of plants on it.

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

We won the 2026 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Animal Research (Engagement) for our Animal Research Corner activity! Part of the LMS Gene Home at Great Exhibition Road Festival in 2025, this activity gave visitors the chance to explore the role of animals in medical research.

Yu Liu, Alice Pollard, Anna Napolitano, Lindsay Keith and Thomas Wells standing with their awards

A visitor interacts with Animal Research Corner at the LMS Gene Home while Yu Liu looks on

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

13.5% of young people are not in work or education. That's why we’ve teamed up with @youthcareers.bsky.social to launch 1:1 mentoring as part of our Pathways Programme! This scheme matches 16-17-year-olds with our staff, helping them build confidence and develop employability skills.

Kids and a researcher working at a table

LMS staff outside Arc Burlington Danes Academy

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

What does healthy eating mean to you? 🌱🧬 Over the last few months, we’ve been co-designing new activities for the LMS Gene Home – our immersive exhibition exploring how genes impact health, which returns to @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social’s @exrdfestival.bsky.social l this year.

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Congratulations to Professor James Ware on being elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences! James was recognised for internationally leading contributions to cardiovascular genomics & precision medicine, advancing understanding and care for inherited heart disease 🫀

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

This year, we were delighted to partner with the @acmedsci.bsky.social to host CATAC at the LMS. The conference created a supportive space for clinical academics in training to share their research, build confidence, and connect with peers across disciplines.

A man is looking over at someone talking to him

A woman is in front of a screen that reads "Team powered discovery for human health", with a large audience looking on

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Great to bring together researchers from the UK, Nordics & Korea for the “Immune System for Physiology and Pathology” workshop at LMS. Part of our Team Science initiative, the day highlighted the power of collaboration in tackling complex immunology challenges. #TeamScience #ResearchCollaboration

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Today (24 April) marks World Hormone Day – a moment to raise awareness of hormones and why they matter for our health. #BecauseHormornesMatter #WorldHormoneDay

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Congratulations @johnbergqvist.bsky.social, @klaudiastanik.bsky.social and Shamin Tahasildar for organising this year's PhD Student Retreat!

People enjoying themselves at the LMS PhD Student Retreat

The organisers and speakers of the event

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Our research has made the front cover of Nature Genetics 🌟 “The Genome Awakens,” artwork by Christophe Wirtz, depicts the maternal-to-zygotic transition – capturing the dynamic transformation of genome architecture during early embryogenesis 🧬

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Yesterday was #iwd2026 so today we are spotlighting Dr Juhi Kumar, a research technician in the Drug Transport and Tumour Metabolism Lab.

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Welcome Silvia Salatino - our new Head of Bioinformatics! “My goal is to make genomics & multidimensional omics data analysis as smooth, reproducible & collaborative as possible across the LMS, empowering researchers to drive new discoveries & helping nurture the next generation of scientists.”

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Last week, we were delighted to host leading researchers from Japan and the United Kingdom for our two-day Sex Differences in Biology: Emerging Data and Insights Symposium. The event created space for rich discussion, new perspectives and international collaboration.

The attendees of the Sex Differences Symposium

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

At the LMS, Andre Brown & his team are tackling this challenge using microscopic worms to create “worm avatars” of rare diseases. Video credit: Julia Riedl

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

@jamesware.bsky.social is head of the @cvgenomics.bsky.social Group at the LMS, and Director of the Rare Disease Research UK Cardiovascular Initiative, which is part of the MRC and @nihr.bsky.social ’s National Research Platform for Rare Disease.

2 volunteers stand behind a stall branded "the Heart Hive"

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re highlighting @lilaallou.bsky.social. Lila joined the LMS in 2024 and leads the Genomic Variation and Disease Research Group, which focuses on the effects of changes in chromosome structure on our health.

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

We were delighted to welcome students from #UWL to the LMS last Friday! This visit was part of UWL’s incredible enhancement week organised by Prof Bernadine Idowu. These visits give students the chance to learn about research careers & share their enthusiasm for science with our staff.

Student looks at flies down a microscope

Students from UWL on the stairs at the LMS

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Congrats PhenoPhase! We are thrilled to say that the PhenoPhase team from the LMS won YES 2025, receiving awards for Best Healthcare Business and Best Financial Planning at the Royal Society! PhenoPhase embodies LMS values of #TeamScience and collaboration.

The 5 winners of the YES competition pose with some of their mentors

The 5 members of PhenoPhase pose with their certificates

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

This festive period, we partnered with Shepherds Bush Families Project, a local charity supporting homeless families and those facing housing difficulties. Together, we: 💸 Raised over £500 🎅 Collected 72 gifts 🎁 Donated over 50 essential items Thank you to everyone who took part!

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

🎉 Exciting news from the LMS! We’re thrilled to celebrate the 3 amazing teams from the LMS who took part in this year’s Your Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) competition! YES trains early-career researchers to prepare a business plan providing them with key enterprise skills for their future.

The members of PhenoPhase (A’ishah Shaikh, Minna Xu, Monika Kyliotaityte, Phoebe Hopper and Shamin Tahasildar) all stood together

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

We’re thrilled to welcome Keshava Datta as the new Head of Proteomics at the LMS! 🎉

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting ‘Aging: From Biology to Therapeutic Opportunities’, a two-day event bringing together leading researchers from across the globe to discuss the latest advances in ageing science

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Congratulations to @alansckoh.bsky.social for winning the prestigious UK 40 Under 40 Award in the Science and Innovation category! Alan is a postdoctoral researcher here at the LMS and at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social. Receiving this honour recognises the contributions he’s made in his field 🎉

A group photo of all the award winners at the top of stairs

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Register now for our one-day symposium at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences on environmental and metabolic control of early development on 4 December 2025! Spaces are limited, register here: www.symposia.org.uk/courses/stem...

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

To celebrate Diwali, our LMS staff recently hosted a vibrant event marking the festival of lights. ✨ This celebration featured food, music, and rangoli-making – bringing staff across the LMS together to learn more about Diwali.

3 LMS staff members standing together and holding small electric candles

LMS staff sitting in chairs, crafting and talking

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Now open: Chain Florey Predoctoral Fellowship at the MRC LMS! 12 months of full-time, fully supported research training for doctors in core/specialty training aiming for a PhD. Apply here: lms.mrc.ac.uk/work/vacanci...

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

#TeamScience is a research ethos based in collaboration. By bringing together expertise from many disciplines we can tackle big problems. One of the ways we show our commitment to this philosophy is our Team Science programme.

a man and a woman add a post it note to a wall covered in them

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Happy Halloween! The skull is an image of the DNA of stem cells from a mouse embryo taken by one of our postdocs, Gosia Borkowska. The eyes of the skull are formed by the nucleus of two cells, while the surrounding ‘bones’ are chromosomes that are preparing for cell division.

An image of cells that look like a skull.

The eyes of the skull are formed by the nucleus of two cells, while the surrounding ‘bones’ are chromosomes that are preparing for cell division.

The cells have been fixed (chemically preserved) in paraformaldehyde and then stained with a dye called DAPI, which can enter both fixed and live cells, to bind the DNA so we can visualise the genetic material.

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

This month for Black History Month, the LMS hosted a talk by Professor Martin Griffiths, organised by @imperialsandc.bsky.social After the talk, we celebrated African and Caribbean culture, with homemade food, a bracelet making station and music from our Black History playlist

Professor Martin Griffiths presenting to a crowd

A woman is looking at a range of African and Caribbean food

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

The final video in our Chain Florey series is out! Melanie Chan shares her experience with the Transition-to-Independence Fellowship—3 years of support, 80% protected research time, and balancing clinical work. lms.mrc.ac.uk/work-and-stu...

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Take a look at the 5th video in our Chain Florey series! Mark Sweeney shares his experience with the Clinical Lectureship—offering up to 4 years of research support with 50% protected time during specialty training. Learn more: lms.mrc.ac.uk/work-and-stu...

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Just launched: the 1st video in our 6-part Chain Florey Clinician Scientist series at LMS! Professor Declan O’Regan shares how we support early career clinicians bridging discovery and experimental medicine. Find out more: lms.mrc.ac.uk/work-and-stu...

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

As part of their DAISY study they enrolled over 900 women with #PCOS to help them better understand the role hormones play in PCOS. Next they hope to enroll women without PCOS to see how they differ to those with the condition.

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Today is World Heart Day! Over the last year our researchers have discovered more about how our hearts age, developed new methods to diagnose and predict heart disease and were awarded professorships from @thebhf.bsky.social We look forward to seeing what our researchers do in the coming year!

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

This week is Postdoc Appreciation Week, so we’d like to say a huge thank you to our incredible postdoc committee! Through the committee our postdocs have gained access to career support, in and out of academia, as well as the opportunity to build a network within the LMS. #NPAW2025 #Postdoc

A collage of 9 of our postdoc committee members

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

This Summer, as part of Great Exhibition Road Festival, we were lucky to have our own @cochemelab.bsky.social highlighted in the Future Food Live tent! To demonstrate the importance of pH the incredibly talented Jethro made pretzels which require boiling in alkali water before baking.

Chef pours purple liquid into a measuring jug

Helena talking to children about the coloured liquids in front of her

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

We’re delighted to welcome Mariana Santos as our new Head of Metabolomics at the LMS! 🗨️ “My long-term goal is to ensure metabolomics becomes a deeply integrated part of how we explore biology at LMS, helping drive forward new discoveries in metabolism and beyond,” Mariana.

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

The Gene Home was a huge success! At the Gene Home visitors were able to engage with science through exciting activities within the familiar setting of the home. Activities ranged from identifying and building protein variants, talking to sickle cell warriors and becoming a Sunscreen Picasso!

A child watches as duplo blocks are assembled

the words "The Shed" are written in sunscreen and illuminated with UV. UV fluorescent objects are on top

A phone is used to take an image of C. elegans down a microscope

A woman holding a model of 2 red blood cells, one affected by sickle cell and one unaffected, smiles while talking to another woman

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Thanks to our LMS Postdoc Committee for organising our Pride event to celebrate LGBTQ+ voices in science! "Pride reminds us that diversity shouldn’t just be welcomed, it should be celebrated," Franco Mazzei, postdoctoral researcher & event organiser (pictured left). #Pride2025

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Congrats to the drug transport and tumour metabolism group, headed by @louisefets.bsky.social for winning two awards!

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Applications for our Emerging Innovators Fellowship are now open! If you’re ready to take the next step in your career and make an impact in the world of biomedical research, we encourage you to apply. Find out if you’re eligible and apply via our website: lms.mrc.ac.uk/work-and-stu...

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

At the LMS, we value the important role clinician scientists play in advancing medical research. Our recent away day for our Chain Florey clinician scientist fellows was a huge success! The day was filled with insightful talks from our fellows, meaningful discussions and valuable career advice.

members of chain Florey pose for a picture

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

At the LMS we have students and staff from across the world who we want to celebrate and make feel welcome. We supported Shayan, an Iranian member of Lab Services, to celebrate Nowruz (Iranian New Year) with colleagues and share Iranian culture and traditions with them.

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Happy International Women’s Day! We’re proud of all the remarkable women at the LMS, from our dedicated students, to the research leaders pushing the boundaries of our knowledge and our vital support and operations staff who make it all possible! #IWD2025 #AccelerateAction

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

✨ Fantastic to have Dr Isabel Torres from @mothersinsci.bsky.social with us today at @mrc-lms.bsky.social for an important lecture discussing why women in science are leaving the workforce.

Isabel Torres (centre) standing with members of the Work/Life Balance Working Group at the LMS

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Our amazing staff have embraced the festive season and supported Shepherds Bush Families Project & Children's Centre 💸 Raising £602 🎅 Fulfilling 46 kid’s letters to Santa 🎁 Donating over 50 items To everyone who made this happen, thank you and have a happy holiday and a great new year!

2 children holding presents standing in front of Santa Clause and 2 elves

People stood in front of a Christmas tree surrounded by presents

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MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences @mrc-lms.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Thank you to everyone who came to our Sci:Art Perspectives workshops! With the @unibirmingham.bsky.social, we hosted a fantastic day mixing creativity with science as women with lived experience of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and gestational diabetes shared their experiences through art.

2 images of groups of attendees to the event

Two people discussing and working together

A group of people working together around a table

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