MRC unveils changes at the top

The Medical Research Council has announced major structural changes as it tries to adapt to Britain's decision to create a new umbrella structure to oversee both basic and clinical research, among other transformations to the UK research environment.Key changes include reducing the number of council members from 17 to 12 in a bid to make the organization more streamlined, and delegating more power to a new strategy team, dubbed the Interim Strategy and Planning Group. Its job will be to advise the new council on long-term planning. Details on who will be in the group have not been released but it will be set up in time for its first meeting in July this year.The MRC also plans to divert staff resources towards translational research.The changes, announced Thursday (May 10) at a press conference in London by chief executive Colin Blakemore and MRC chairman Sir John Chisholm, represent an attempt by the agency to adapt to a shifting research landscape. Last year, the UK government unveiled reforms aimed at the country's research funding system, including the creation of an umbrella structure to oversee the MRC and research carried out within the National Health Service. A key target of the reforms was to bridge the gap between basic biomedical research and the needs of sick patients."We believe [the changes] will enable the MRC to maintain its international reputation for high quality research...and strengthen our capacity to develop and apply research findings for public and patient benefit," according to an MRC statement.Blakemore, who plans to quit in September after a four-year term as chief executive, told reporters that, despite the changes, there will be little or no disruption for researchers seeking grants. "Initially, there will be no difference at all and for the next year it will be business as usual," he said."For much of what the MRC does, there will be minimal change in terms of the process of judging applications," Blakemore added.Despite its reduced size, the council will comply with the MRC charter, which states that at least half of the members should be top scientists. Going from 17 to 12 members is "an attempt to improve our performance and our processes for developing strategy," Blakemore said. "We decided that we would get the most value out of the very eminent people we have if it was a smaller, more focused council."The agency has set the goal of "building a stronger evidence base" for its funding strategy, according to its Web site. The goal is to ensure funds provide the "best value," Blakemore said.But Blakemore admitted there is still confusion in all sectors of the science community over the precise definition of translational research."I'm not sure that we have a complete understanding of what it is, even here at the MRC," he told The Scientist. "The science community is confused and so we'll have to do some education on what translational research really is."Director of Research Management at the MRC, Diana Dunstan, urged that the drive towards translational research should not siphon cash away from basic work. "We have to sustain investment in basic research because it's the prequel to the translational research of tomorrow," she told reporters.Robin Lovell-Badge, head of stem cell biology and developmental genetics at the MRC's National Institute of Medical Research in London, said it's too early tell how the changes will impact the research community."One major worry is what's going to happen to basic science in the MRC portfolio. It seems to have been under threat for quite some time."Lovell-Badge said a key factor could be the make-up of the slimmed down council, particularly the type of scientists recruited. "It's really important that basic science is represented at the highest level within the MRC," he told The Scientist.Pat Hagan mail@the-scientist.comLinks within this article:S. Pincock, "Sparring over UK funding plan," The Scientist, August 2, 2006. http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/24225S. Pincock, "MRC head to step down," The Scientist, March 8, 2006 http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/52932/MRC, future funding strategy http://www.mrc.ac.uk/AboutUs/OurStrategyS. Pincock, "Protect basic research: UK scientists," The Scientist, March 15, 2007. http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/52939

MRC unveils changes at the top

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