The National Institute for Medical Research (commonly abbreviated to NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC); In 2016, the NIMR became part of the new Francis Crick Institute, which was constructed next to St Pancras railway station in the Camden area of central London. History Foundation 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 delayed 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 Mill Hill. The original institute, under the directorship of Sir Henry Dale, had three divisions: Bacteriology Biochemistry and Pharmacology Applied Physiology 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 In the 1930s, the decision was made to move the institute to new premises. An imposing copper-roofed building at Mill Hill was designed by Maxwell Ayrton, the architect of the original Wembley Stadium, and construction began in 1937. Occupation was delayed when war broke out in 1939 and the building was given to the Women's Royal Naval Service. The building was returned to the MRC in autumn 1949 but Dale had retired in 1942 and so was never director on the new site, that job falling to his successor Sir Charles Harington. The official opening ceremony took place on 5 May 1950, with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth present. Harington expanded the research programme into ten divisions during his 20-year tenure and guided researchers at the institute to, amongst other achievements, the development of gas chromatography and the discovery of interferon. From 1950 to 1955 Albert Neuberger was Head of Biochemistry at the institute. In 1962, Nobel Prize winner Sir Peter Medawar became director and, consistent with his research interests, established NIMR as a major centre for immunological research. Following an illness, Medawar retired as director in 1971 to be replaced by