The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical research institute located in central London, founded through a partnership between six organisations: the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, University College London, Imperial College London, and King's College London. It operates what is described as Europe's largest biomedical research facility under one roof, housing more than 100 research groups and a combined workforce of over 2,000 scientists and staff.
The institute conducts basic and translational research into human health and disease, working across biology at multiple scales - from molecular and cellular processes to whole organisms. Its technical environment spans a broad range of life sciences disciplines, supported by centralised core facilities and research infrastructure designed to serve the needs of a large, multidisciplinary scientific community.
Structurally, the Crick is built around an open, interdisciplinary model that removes the departmental boundaries typical of traditional academic institutions. Scientists from diverse fields work in proximity, with the institute explicitly encouraging collaborative and exploratory approaches to research. This organisational design shapes both the physical layout of the building and the day-to-day working culture across its teams.
