There’s power in stories. Stories that make us feel, hope and wonder. Stories that help us understand more about the world and ourselves. And stories that help us feel less alone.
Our Medical Research Council (MRC) Insight blog is closing, along with other UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) blogs. But the content will still be available in other formats and channels, including on our website and LinkedIn. We’ll keep sharing human stories about MRC and the people we fund on the website via news stories, impact stories and articles about how the research we fund is transforming healthcare.
We’ll also be launching a new MRC newsletter. This will share strategic insights from our Senior Executive Team and across MRC, news and upcoming opportunities specific to the MRC research community. Subscribe to be the first to receive it.
Storytelling inspiration
Look no further for storytelling inspiration than the master storyteller of our generation Sir David Attenborough, who’s still going strong at 100 years of age. At UKRI we’re privileged to have a royal research ship named in his honour.
Just as science moves on, so do its storytelling methods. Since we launched the blog, the way people consume content online has changed.
We want to make sure information is available in a place and format that’s findable. Often our blog posts don’t rank highly in search engine results or page views.
Blog posts capture a brief moment in time. But we want to put our energy into making content available long-term, so it remains useful to you, our audience.
Changing times
Throughout Sir David’s lifetime, the unrelenting quest to seek new, exciting, never-before-seen nature footage has fuelled the development, refinement and adoption of new and more powerful filmmaking equipment.
At the ripe age of 113, MRC has also witnessed the constant evolution of technology, like the genome sequencing revolution, enabling better science, better medical research and better methods. Science that has improved, and will continue to improve, our lives and livelihoods.
From discovery science to impact
MRC’s commitment to showcase the value of curiosity-driven discovery research through storytelling remains unchanged. Sometimes it can take decades before a discovery hits the headlines as a healthcare breakthrough. But that’s ok. As a centenarian (organisation) we’re in it for the long game.
We’ll keep funding the best science, the best people and the best methods. There will be dead ends, changes of direction and learning along the way. That’s science, that’s life.
But by following the funding threads and championing the research and people we fund, we’ll keep sharing the stories of the science we support. Science that’s supported by taxpayers and will one day help improve someone’s life.
Telling the human story
I’ve been inspired by three recent health advances, driven by discovery research, that share the perspectives of people with lived experience of disease. These human stories make the research personal, relatable and show its impact on people’s lives. Research that’s enabling earlier diagnosis of conditions, advanced therapies to treat disease, and tools to stop diseases from occurring and progressing.
“It gives me more time to live my life”
Shirley Xerxes, was one of the first NHS patients to receive a new one-minute immunotherapy injection to treat cancer.
It’s a new and faster way of delivering an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab, known as Keytruda. Instead of an intravenous infusion, which can take up to two hours per appointment, eligible patients can now receive their treatment as a one-minute injection under the skin. The drug is used to treat 14 different cancers.
The new jab offers faster treatment for tens of thousands of patients each year. Decades of MRC investment in immunology and antibody research has led to this new injectable cancer treatment being rolled out across the NHS.
“I truly believe the NHS Bowel Screening Programme saved my life”
Grace, aged 54, from Cornwall, received a home-testing kit in the post. She said the “test could be the most important post you ever receive”. Despite having no symptoms, her test came back positive for bowel cancer. But thanks to the test, her cancer was found early and dealt with.
Bowel cancer is the UK’s fourth most common cancer. But, as shown through Grace’s story, it is treatable and curable, especially when diagnosed early. Key to early diagnosis is testing for signs of cancer before symptoms arise, known as ‘screening’. Recent NHS figures show that the NHS bowel cancer screening programme has detected 70,000 cancers, saving an estimated 3,500 lives each year.
Screening can deliver earlier diagnosis, prevention through polyp removal, and is one of the most cost‑effective cancer interventions in the NHS. The programme was made possible by long‑term MRC‑funded research via the Nottingham Bowel Cancer Screening Trial. This trial demonstrated that testing for blood in a small stool sample reduced the number of bowel cancer deaths by 16%.
“I was finally believed”
Ellie Colton’s diagnosis of endometriosis didn’t magically fix it. But after 10 years of suffering from painful symptoms, it meant everything that she was finally believed.
Now a new urine test, backed by UKRI research, aims to cut endometriosis diagnosis time from an average of eight or nine years down to a few weeks.
This short film follows the story of women living with endometriosis. It offers hope to the millions who currently face years of pain, misdiagnosis and dismissal. Diagnosing the condition sooner would not only save women from years of suffering but it could prevent serious organ damage and reduce pressure on healthcare services.
What’s next
We’d like to thank everyone who has contributed and trusted us to share their stories on the blog for the past 13 years.
We’ll continue to champion people’s voices and stories about research, and to share the value of discovery science on our channels.
Finally, a thank you to Sir David for showing us the power of storytelling. And for inspiring me to (attempt to) do for medical research what he’s spent a lifetime doing for nature.
Find out more
Keep following MRC stories by:
- subscribing to MRC’s newsletter (coming soon)
- subscribing to UKRI emails for funding opportunities, events and news
- following us on LinkedIn and Bluesky
Learn how the people and projects we invest in are making an impact on our lives and the world we live in by reading our:
- MRC Impact Showcase 2025
- Report of the Economic impact of MRC-funded research (2025)
- access all our published blog posts on The National Archives
Isabel Harding is a Content Manager who delivers audience-focused content for the Medical Research Council (MRC) research community. Her work focuses on:
- sharing human stories about MRC-funded people, science and research
- highlighting the value of public voices and lived experience in research
- encouraging and recognising outstanding science communication by MRC PhD students