Medical Research Council (United Kingdom)

Medical Research Council
Council overview
Formed1913 (1913)
StatusCouncil within UK Research and Innovation
HeadquartersSwindon, Wiltshire, England
Annual budget£604 million (FY2024/25)
Ministers responsible
Council executive
Parent departmentDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology
Parent bodyUK Research and Innovation

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a council of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, responsible for co-coordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom.

The MRC focuses on high-impact research and has provided the financial support and scientific expertise behind a number of medical breakthroughs, including the development of penicillin and the discovery of the structure of DNA. Research funded by the MRC has produced 32 Nobel Prize winners to date.