People and research centres

Study at the Institute for Regeneration and Repair, part of Edinburgh Medical School

You will study in laboratories at the Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR), based at a vibrant biomedical research campus.  The Institute incorporates the Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM), the Centre for Inflammation Research (CIR) and the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH). IRR brings together world-leading fundamental stem cell, inflammation, reproductive health and regenerative medicine research with established clinical excellence to deliver a "bench-to-bedside" approach to address the challenges posed by major diseases.

IRR houses state-of-the-art laboratory space and various centralised facilities that are operated by expert facility managers, including tissue culture, flow cytometry, specialist microscopy, imaging, high content screening and histology facilities and a transgenics service.

Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR) website

The MSc by Research in Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Repair programme is hosted at IRR's Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM), a world-renowned biomedical research centre. Seminars, lectures, tutorials and discussion groups will be held primarily at IRR, but may occasionally be hosted at other University centres and collaborating organisations.

Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM)

Research at CRM is aimed at gaining a fundamental understanding of stem cells and regeneration and to use this to develop new models, diagnostics and therapies to improve human health.

You can take a look inside our centre via a virtual tour of our excellent facilities, guided by former PhD student Sophie Quick.

Explore CRM via a virtual tour

CRM is home to 24 highly interactive research groups working to understand stem cells and their interactions with the tissues within which they reside.

Explore CRM Research Groups

Research themes at CRM include stem cell development and formation of the niche, tissue maintenance and repair, degeneration and regeneration, reprogramming of somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and disease modelling using stem cells.

Explore CRM Research Themes

Research programmes at CRM currently span four therapeutic targets (brain, blood, liver and heart), with others being developed by strategic recruitments.

Key to the philosophy of the centre is that collaborations with other University Centres and the use of Edinburgh’s superb clinical research infrastructure enable the application of regenerative biology and medicine to a wide range of biological problems and diseases. Students on our programme are encouraged to learn from and contribute to the Centre’s drive to translate their scientific outputs into clinically relevant applications.

Centre for Inflammation Research (CIR)

Researchers at CIR study the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Explore CIR Research Groups

Research groups at CIR focus on the following four key thematic areas:

• Immune modulation and regulation of inflammation
• Tissue remodelling and regeneration
• Imaging inflammation
• Pathway medicine

Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH)

The Centre for Reproductive Health is an interdisciplinary research and teaching hub, bringing together scientists and clinicians to push the boundaries of knowledge in reproductive biology and its practical applications in medicine. The Centre's four overarching research themes are: Gonadal function, sexual health, pregnancy and early life, and menstrual health.

Explore CRH Research Themes

Clinical delivery: Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult

The CRM building houses a clinical translation unit, enabling the production and culturing of cells at GMP-grade (Good Manufacturing Practice) that are suitable for therapeutic applications.

This unit is run by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), with whom the centre collaborates closely on developing cell therapies, including a Phase 2 autologous macrophage cell therapy trial for Liver Cirrhosis, led by Professor Forbes. 

Experts who work across the life cycle of cell and gene therapy development and production at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult Edinburgh, Resolution Therapeutics and Macomics deliver training in the development and manufacturing of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products, and typically offer rotation projects for the programme's Clinical Delivery pathway. The programme organises visits for the cohort to several life sciences companies in the Edinburgh area so students can find out what working in biotech industry is like and start building a network of contacts.

Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service

Cell & Gene Therapy Catapult Edinburgh

Resolution Therapeutics

Macomics

Programme management team

Postgraduate study in Edinburgh

As a postgraduate student at  Edinburgh Medical School you'll be at the heart of our dynamic and collaborative community. You will work in partnership with our passionate staff, who are dedicated to nurturing the unique talents of each student in helping tackle the biggest challenges facing our world today.

Explore what it's like to live and study in Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh and College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

The University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s leading research universities. and we are consistently ranked one of the top 50 universities in the world.  The QS World University Rankings 2023 have placed the University 15th in the world, while we ranked 29th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, and 4^th in the UK for research power, with 90% of our research activity classified as world leading or internationally excellent in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF). Medical research at the University of Edinburgh has world-wide impact and has benefitted millions of people in a range of biomedical areas.

The Institute for Regeneration and Repair has a proven track record in translational research. IRR is based at Edinburgh BioQuarter, which incorporates a major teaching hospital, University of Edinburgh Biomedical Research centres and business incubator premises.

CRM, CIR and CRH are three of five interdisciplinary research centres that form the Deanery of Clinical Sciences (Dean: Professor Hilary Critchley). The Deanery has an international reputation in clinical-based research through the combination of fundamental, clinical and translational science and epidemiological studies, and as a part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, offers unparalleled opportunities for ground-breaking interdisciplinary research in the biomedical sciences. 

The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine traces its origins back nearly 500 years (Darwin, Simpson and Conan-Doyle are alumni) and is internationally renowned for its research and teaching. Professor Moira Whyte is the Head of College, the only conjoint Medical and Veterinary Medical School in the UK. The College employs over 3000 academic and support staff.

For more than four centuries, students and staff at The University of Edinburgh have rewritten history time and again through their achievements. They have explored space, revolutionised surgery, published era-defining books, paved the way for life-saving medical breakthroughs and introduced to the world many inventions, discoveries and ideas from penicillin to Dolly the sheep. We believed that anything is possible, we still do.

Edinburgh is a vibrant and historic capital city - regularly voted as one of the most desirable places to live in the world - with world-famous cultural festivals and the mountains and beaches of Scotland on your doorstep.

Why choose Edinburgh?

Student life at The University of Edinburgh

Postgraduate Study at the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Postgraduate Study Open Days, events and visits