The Medical Research Council, founded in 1913, was immediately charged with establishing a central research institute in London. Later that year, premises at Hampstead were acquired and the National Institute for Medical Research was founded.

However, the outbreak of World War I soon afterwards postponed occupation of the building, although senior staff were appointed and began work. By 1920 the Institute at Mount Vernon Hospital was fully operational and remained so for 30 years until the move to its current location at Mill Hill. The original Institute, under the directorship of Sir Henry Dale, had three divisions:


Dale oversaw a period of considerable success at NIMR, including the discovery of the human influenza virus in 1933 and the discovery of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, for which Dale himself received the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Moving to Mill Hill
History
Foundation
2000 to present