History
History of the Wellcome Trust funded Cell Biology research Centre.
Origins of the Centre
The expansion of research in cell biology was planned in 1992, it was the vision of Professor Sir Kenneth Murray, then Biogen Professor at the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology.
A seed contribution of £2.5 million from the Darwin Trust was followed by financial commitments from The Wolfson Foundation, the University and the Wellcome Trust, allowing construction of the Michael Swann Building.
Dedicated research space
The majority of research space was earmarked for Wellcome Trust-funded research.
Recruitment, based on research excellence at all levels in the area of cell biology, began in earnest in 1993, mostly but not exclusively, through the award of Research Fellowships from the Wellcome Trust.
The Swann Building was first occupied by new arrivals in January 1996 and became “The Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology” from October 2001.
Core funding for the Centre from the Wellcome Trust was renewed in 2006, 2011 and 2016.
Centre Directors
Adrian Bird became the first Centre Director in 2001 and led the Centre until 2011 when David Tollervey took over the role for the next ten years.
In 2021 Adele Marston became current Centre Director.
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