The UK's Medical Research Council (MRC) is to reconsider plans to close one of its flagship institutions following an angry backlash from researchers who work there.
The decision was taken last week to set up an expert task force to consider the long-term future of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), based at Mill Hill in north London.
On Friday May 30, MRC chief executive George Radda confirmed in a letter to John Skehel, director of the NIMR, that the plan now is to consider "a broader set of options" for the size and location of the institute.
The decision reflects the unprecedented opposition the MRC encountered when it revealed plans to close the Mill Hill site and move the NIMR to Cambridge. The proposal was put forward as part of a much wider blueprint for the future of MRC laboratories, called the Forward Investment Strategy.
The consultation period ...
