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The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine
is an independent, non-profit-making organisation, registered as
a charity. Established in 1891, for the next 80 years "the
Lister" played an important role in the development of the
laboratory aspects of preventive medicine.
For 20 years until 1914 when the Medical Research Committee (later
the Medical Research Council) set up the National Institute for
Medical Research (NIMR), the Lister Institute was the only institute
of its kind in the country and ranked internationally with the Pasteur
Institute in Paris and the Rockefeller Institute in New York. Microbiology
was always a major theme of the Institute's research, beginning
with bacteriology and going on to include virology and protozoology.
Over the years the Institute achieved worldwide renown, leading
the fight against disease. Its targets ranged from smallpox, typhoid
and diphtheria in the 19th century, to cancer, rheumatism and nutritional
disorders in the 20th century. Invaluable work was done on viruses
and genes, on blood and disinfection, vitamins and nutrition. The
Institute was also one of the cradles of biochemistry and biophysics
in Britain and studies on the metabolism of carbohydrates, enzymology
and fats and on molecular structures, characterisation and separation
respectively were a major part of its ongoing research.
During the late 1970s however, financial problems led to the closure
of the research and production facilities and conversion to a highly
successful trust awarding Fellowships to post-doctoral research
workers. After a further twenty years, changes in the financial,
charitable and academic environment forced the Institute to once
again fundamentally review its activities. The outcome of this review
is a new Research Prize scheme that remains true to the Institute's
charitable objectives and its desire to "make a difference".
See also the Lister's Research Strategy in the 'About the Lister'
section.
Current Fellows
Former Fellows
More on the Institute's scientific
heritage
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