Our story

Our history

The roots of the Medical Research Foundation stretch back to an urgent health crisis

At the beginning of the 20th century, tuberculosis (TB) was one of the UK’s foremost health problems. Between 1851 and 1910, in England and Wales, roughly four million people died from TB. Known as the ‘robber of youth’, It affected young people in particular. More than one-third of the lives it claimed were people aged between 15 to 34, with half of those being between 20 and 24.

In 1901, a Royal Commission was established to investigate how TB might be tackled, to stop its spread, better treat those infected and reduce the numbers of people affected by the disease. The need to pay for this work would lay the groundwork for the first national fund for medical research.

In 1911, the Royal Commission published its final report, and Parliament passed the National Insurance Act. Within it was a critical provision: a penny per working person per year, set aside for TB treatment and research. This generated £57,000 a year – equivalent to over £5 million today – creating the first national fund for medical research.

The creation of the MRC and our first charitable donation

With this national fund for medical research, the MRC (at the time known as the Medical Research Committee and Advisory Council) was created in 1913 to oversee and distribute the funding. Crucially, the decision was made not just to limit this research funding to TB but to spend it on investigating any disease considered a priority for public health. The disease burden of the era was considerable: malnutrition and poverty-related conditions such as rickets were widespread, infant and maternal mortality rates remained stubbornly high, and infectious diseases, among them scarlet fever and diphtheria, continued to claim lives across the country.

In addition to the government funds, the MRC also received donations from members of the public who wished to support its life-saving work during this period, with recorded gifts dating back as far as 1919.

A century of medical research powered by charitable giving

A Royal Charter issued in 1920 formally established the MRC – by this point known as it is today, as the Medical Research Council. The charter explicitly allowed the organisation to receive donations from the public in addition to government funding, with many people choosing to donate to it in support of science. These charitable donations were managed separately from the MRC’s government funding, and used to fund researchers, equipment and other scientific work, including into a particular area or condition, if requested by the donor.

Later, following the Charities Act of 1960, which for the first time required charities to formally register with the Charity Commission, these funds donated by the public were registered in 1968 and became known as Trust Funds Administered in Connection with the Medical Research Council.

Becoming the Medical Research Foundation

The transition to our current identity – the Medical Research Foundation – was a process of modernisation rather than creation. As with the reforms of the 1960s, the early 2000s saw sweeping changes to how charitable funds across the UK were structured and governed. So, in 2006, work began to take the long-standing Trust Funds Administered in Connection with the MRC and transition it into a specialist, modern charity. This process involved closing the old governance structure and combining the assets, before finally becoming the Medical Research Foundation in 2011. With this step, the charitable funds that had been gifted to us over decades moved to this newly structured charity, along with this rich shared history.

We have always been, and remain today, the charity of the MRC. We are proud to have such deep roots, and to continue our 100-year tradition of using public donations to fund life-changing medical research.

An independent and flexible charity

Dr Angela Hind – responsible for leading the charity's modernisation starting in 2006 – is our Chief Executive. She leads a dedicated team which is committed to ensuring we use our donations responsibly and make the biggest possible impact on human health.

Unlike many other funding bodies, we are not restricted to providing support for a particular disease or condition, or a particular research institution. We can respond to the emerging health needs of the nation and the wider world, and the research priorities and opportunities identified by scientific experts and our donors.

Although the Foundation operates independently and can respond flexibly to the needs of the research community, we retain our unique connection with the MRC and benefit from its expertise and heritage.

Investing in the future of human health

We’re incredibly proud of the research we have funded over the years. But to improve health for everyone, much more needs to be done.

While a small number of major illnesses will remain at the very top of the research funding agenda, there are many health conditions which won’t get the attention they deserve. Millions of people, who desperately need better solutions for their health challenges, will continue to fall through the cracks.

We will use our unique position to respond to these challenges. That’s why we are aiming to invest £50 million in life-changing medical research between 2019-2029.