Strangeways Research Laboratory

Strangeways Research Laboratory is a research institution in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It was founded by Thomas Strangeways in 1905 as the Cambridge Research Hospital and acquired its current name in 1928. Organised as an independent charity, it was historically funded primarily by the Medical Research Council and is currently managed by the University of Cambridge, also its sole trustee. Formerly a site of research on rheumatic arthritis and connective tissue disorders, it has since 1997 focused on the study of genetic epidemiology. HistoryThe institution was founded in 1905 as the Cambridge Research Hospital by physician Thomas Strangeways, who sought to study patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and related conditions. Funded by a combination of Strangeways' own contributions, support from noted doctors of the time, and donations from patients, the hospital began modestly with only six beds, and with research equipment located in renovated coal sheds. It closed briefly in 1908 due to lack of funding, but quickly reopened and moved to its current site in 1912 thanks to the support of Otto Beit. It was temporarily repurposed as a hospital for military officers in World War I but returned to use as a research site in 1917. Subsequently, in 1923, Strangeways moved the clinical aspects of his work to St Bartholomew's Hospital in order to focus research efforts at the laboratory on then-emerging technologies in tissue culture and cell biology.

Strangeways Research Laboratory is a research institution in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It was founded by Thomas Strangeways in 1905 as the Cambridge Research Hospital and acquired its current name in 1928. Organised as an independent charity, it was historically funded primarily by the Medical Research Council and is currently managed by the University of Cambridge, also its sole trustee. Formerly a site of research on rheumatic arthritis and connective tissue disorders, it has since 1997 focused on the study of genetic epidemiology. HistoryThe institution was founded in 1905 as the Cambridge Research Hospital by physician Thomas Strangeways, who sought to study patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and related conditions. Funded by a combination of Strangeways' own contributions, support from noted doctors of the time, and donations from patients, the hospital began modestly with only six beds, and with research equipment located in renovated coal sheds. It closed briefly in 1908 due to lack of funding, but quickly reopened and moved to its current site in 1912 thanks to the support of Otto Beit. It was temporarily repurposed as a hospital for military officers in World War I but returned to use as a research site in 1917. Subsequently, in 1923, Strangeways moved the clinical aspects of his work to St Bartholomew's Hospital in order to focus research efforts at the laboratory on then-emerging technologies in tissue culture and cell biology.