The Rosalind Franklin Institute is a national research institute dedicated to developing new technologies to tackle important health research challenges. The spectrum of tools under development at the Franklin are individually extraordinary, but when combined at the Franklin’s Hub, they allow us to develop tomorrow’s healthcare innovations.
We achieve unique insights by developing new instruments, creating new ways of working and integrating previously disparate approaches.
Utilising our new tools, we will image, interpret and intervene in biological systems. These insights will speed up the discovery of new medicines, help find new diagnostics, push forward microbial and plant science and contribute to a deeper understanding of human health and disease.
Hub and Spokes
The Franklin operates a ‘hub and spokes’ model, with the central Hub being located on the Harwell Campus. The Hub houses a unique portfolio of scientific tools and researchers from both academia and industry.
The spokes are the Franklin members, comprising of ten leading research universities from across the UK, alongside Diamond Light Source and UKRI- Science and Technology Facilities Council. Our members are key collaborators on many of our research projects and provide key insights in the governing of the institute.
The Challenge
Creating new drugs has never been slower or more expensive, but need is growing faster than ever – with antimicrobial resistance increasing, escalating healthcare costs; an ageing population; the growing impact of mental illness, or of intractable diseases such as dementia, and threats to food security.
The Franklin looks to address important health research challenges by bringing together physical science and engineering researchers to address these challenges. Franklin researchers also collaborate closely with academic industrial partners to ensure that our research is helping to address the most pressing problems and has real impact.
The Franklin aims to create technologies which represent a factor of ten shift from the status quo. These disruptive new technologies will allow us to see the biological world in new ways – from picometre-scale atoms to centimetre-scale tumours. This insight will speed up the discovery of new medicines, help find new diagnostics, push forward microbial and plant science and contribute to a deeper understanding of human health and disease.
Franklin values
Our values define how we approach all aspects of our work, both internally and externally, and in particular how we approach collaboration and assess projects.
Adventure
Our projects, by their nature, carry significant risk, combined with significant pay-off in scientific, economic, and patient benefits if successful. Risk is mitigated by engaging experts from across disciplines and working together to approach large challenges.
Engagement
Our projects are not conceived of or delivered by one organisation alone, they engage multiple partners across academia and industry and there is demonstrable support for their development by these communities.
Novelty
Our technologies will be novel in their application and design, offering tools to the academic and industrial communities which enable significant new research potential and economic benefit.
Utility
Our technologies will be sought after by both academic and industrial communities, and access will be opened to as wide as possible, ensuring that the research benefits are maximised.
Collaborate with us
We want to partner with many different types of organisation and use our technologies to help answer research problems across life science, to enable this we have various routes by which you can collaborate with us.