Centre of the Cell

Centre of the Cell is a science education centre based at the Whitechapel campus, Queen Mary University of London. Many of our students and junior scientists are science ambassadors, working to communicate science to children and enthusing them to become the biomedical researchers of the future.

It is the first science education centre in the world to be located within working biomedical research laboratories; inside a distinctive orange Pod suspended above the laboratories in the Blizard Institute in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.

Visitors are able to see research scientists at work as they enter the centre and, once inside, can learn about the amazing world of cells, the human body and the latest medical research.

Visit the Centre of the Cell website for more information.

Founder and director: Professor Frances Balkwill OBE FMedSci FRS

Fran is Founder and Director of Centre of the Cell. She is also Professor of Cancer Biology at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and Deputy Centre Lead in the Centre for Tumour Microenvironment. Her research focuses on ovarian cancer, with the aim of translating knowledge from cancer biology into new treatments for cancer.

Fran was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society in 2024 for not only her contribution to cancer research but also her dedication to public engagement of science.

Apart from her work at Centre of the Cell, Fran has produced, together with graphic designer Mic Rolph, thirteen science books for children on cell and molecular biology with titles such as Enjoy Your Cells, The Egg and Sperm Race and You, Me and HIV. These books have been translated into at least twelve foreign languages with over half a million copies sold worldwide

Alongside these roles Fran serves on CRUK, Royal Society, AACR and AIRC grant committees. She chairs the Research Advisory Committee of Prostate Cancer UK.