Cambridge academics have called on the University and the government to save a number of research units which could be forced to close due to axed funding.

153 Cambridge academics and researchers were among the 608 signatories of an open letter calling on the government to save a series of research units funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

The MRC says that it had provided “focused investments” to these units as part of its mission “to support research and training with the aim of maintaining and improving human health”.

These units “have long and distinguished histories (some going back over 100 years), and have been responsible for many seminal developments in their respective fields,” the letter says.

But, the MRC has axed the existing funding network which supported these units. Research units previously supported by the MRC must now apply to a new funding system for “Centres of Research Excellence” (CoREs).

Cambridge is home to six MRC units, which carry out leading research on areas including epidemiology, toxicology, and brain sciences. Most MRC units are based at universities, with others operating at Oxford, Bristol, and Glasgow.

Among the Cambridge-based signatories of the open letter is Professor Martin Rees, former president of the Royal Society and current Astronomer Royal. Rees was the Master of Trinity College from 2004 to 2012. The letter was also signed by two Nobel Prize-winning scientists.

The letter was addressed to Lord Patrick Vallance, the minister for science, and shared with prime minister Keir Starmer. Concern over the future of these research labs had caused the issue to be debated in Parliament in October.

Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), who have backed the letter, said that the MRC’s decision to drop unit funding was made “behind closed doors”.

A number of Cambridge researchers have previously expressed their concerns about the future of the University’s MRC units.

During an official University “discussion” which took place last year, a researcher at the biostatistics research unit drew attention to the role played by the unit during the Covid-19 pandemic, when researchers provided statistical modelling for Public Health England.

The researcher called for Cambridge to intervene by providing the units with the extra funding required: “There will be an historical stain on the University if Units with such a rich academic culture close because of institutional inertia.”

Professor Duncan Astle, another researcher at one of Cambridge’s units, claimed that “livelihoods and careers” would be impacted, were Cambridge’s MRC units to be closed.

“These are places of tremendous interdisciplinary creativity that have provided a training ground for generations of world-leading scientists, and vital research infrastructure that has become essential to the success of the wider University,” Astle said.

The open letter warned that the widespread closure of MRC research units would “have a detrimental effect on the entire medical research sector in this country”.

“It would be a tragedy for medical research in the UK if the MRC units were lost,” the 600-plus researchers said.

Responding to academics’ concerns last year, the University Council conceded that it “is not possible” for Cambridge to “absorb” the cost of running these research units, given “the seriousness of the Academic University’s financial position”.

Last year, Varsity revealed that the University projected a £53 million deficit for the 2023/24 academic year, and is “flying blind” financially.

A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge told Varsity: “The MRC’s move away from the Unit funding model represents a significant change for our MRC Units. The University has set up a project board to support the six Cambridge Units and their staff with the transition to MRC Centres of Research Excellence (CoRE) funding and/or other funding streams.”

“We are working closely with the Unit directors and programme leaders on academic strategy, and ways that Unit activity can be transitioned into existing University department structures,” they said.

Professor Patrick Chinnery, executive chair of the MRC, told Varsity: “Following two reviews from 2019 to 2021, the Medical Research Council has changed how it invests in long-term research within its units and centres to adapt to the changing needs and opportunities in health research and maximise impact from public funds.”

“We recognise that replacing our unit model with the new MRC CoRE model will be challenging for many unit staff. The MRC remains committed to working closely with the employers, the Universities, to support their staff, so that they are best able to manage the transition onto other funding mechanisms, including MRC CoRE and programme grants, and alternative employment arrangements.”