Cells, Biochemistry & Physiology

How cells and body systems work at the chemical level — the foundation for understanding health and disease

#8 of 29 research categories by total funding · About £60 per person in the UK

Funded awards

9,961

Published funding

£4.0B

Average published award

£581K

Active funded awards

1,252

NIHR-supported projects

166

Amounts are published for 6,913 of 9,961 funded awards. Data as of 16 July 2026.

BBSRC funds the most Cells, Biochemistry & Physiology research — 3,293 grants (33% of the topic). The busiest year was 2018, with 645 grants.

Top Funders by Funded Award Count

View data table

Funder	Funded awards
BBSRC	3,293
EPSRC	2,413
Wellcome	1,279
MRC	784
UKRI	525
EC	514
InnovateUK	362
BHF	315
CRUK	153
NC3Rs	62

Funded Awards by Year

View data table

Year	Funded awards
2006	550
2007	552
2008	552
2009	474
2010	381
2011	375
2012	357
2013	381
2014	363
2015	520
2016	597
2017	613
2018	645
2019	578
2020	566
2021	498
2022	583
2023	571
2024	491
2025	253

Grants


Regulation of epithelial and endothelial cell-cell junctions by mechanical forces	University of Bristol	BBSRC	£3.5M	2021	Active
The physiology and pathophysiology of unfolded protein responses.	University of Cambridge	Wellcome	£5.5M	2009	Completed
Chemical biology tools for investigating the chemistry of cellular REDOX stress	—	EPSRC	£5.3M	2019	Completed
Unity and diversity of multiciliary function across scales	Associated with Aix-Marseille Université · Imperial College London · Institut Jacques Monod · University of Edinburgh · University of Exeter · University of Heidelberg	Wellcome	£4.8M	2026	Active
Structural Cell Biology of transport vesicle and organelle biogenesis.	University of Cambridge	Wellcome	£3.3M	2010	Completed
Structural studies of the extracellular matrix of bacterial biofilms	MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology	Wellcome	£2.0M	2023	Active
The Structural Basis of Molecular Mechanisms in Cell Guidance and Adhesion.	—	MRC	£1.7M	2014	Completed
Structural Basis of Molecular Mechanisms in Cell Guidance and Adhesion.	—	MRC	£1.7M	2020	Completed
ActBio: Exploiting the Parallels between Active Matter and Mechanobiology	—	UKRI	£1.7M	2024	Active
Actin cortex mechanics and the morphogensis of animal cells	University College London	MRC	£1.6M	2013	Completed
Cell morphogenesis across scales: from molecular processes to the biomechanics of cell shape.	University College London	MRC	£1.6M	2017	Completed
Molecular Cell Biology of Post-Golgi Membrane Traffic Pathways	University of Cambridge	MRC	£1.5M	2009	Completed
Establishing a structure-function relationship between biomolecular condensates and protein degradation	University of Cambridge	MRC	£1.4M	2022	Active
Molecular architecture and mechanism of the chloroplast's beta-barrel assembly machinery (ChlAM)	—	UKRI	£1.3M	2024	Active
The role of actin in cell homeostasis	University of Sheffield	MRC	£1.1M	2007	Completed
Structural mechanics in subcellular structure formation	University of Dundee	Wellcome	£1.1M	2018	Completed
Determining structural dynamics of membrane proteins in their native environment: focus on bacterial antibiotic resistance	King's College London	UKRI	£1.1M	2019	Completed
Bio-HhOST: Next Generation 3D Tissue Models: Bio-Hybrid Hierarchical Organoid-Synthetic Tissues (Bio-HhOST) Comprised of Live and Artificial Cells.	Cardiff University	UKRI	£937K	2024	Active
The role of caveolin-3 in cardiac myocyte structure and function	University of Bristol	BHF	£875K	2013	Completed
Cryo focussed ion beam scanning electron microscope for correlative functional studies of biological systems in situ by tomography	King's College London	Wellcome	£820K	2018	Completed

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Cells, Biochemistry & Physiology

Top Funders by Funded Award Count

Funded Awards by Year

Grants

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