
Cambridge Biomedical Campus CBC from the air
The School of Clinical Medicine sits at the heart of Europe’s largest life sciences campus. In the 1960s, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC) was still a greenfield site on the edge of the city. Its earliest buildings housed Addenbrooke’s Hospital, the University’s Department of Radiotherapeutics and the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
Building on Cambridge’s long-standing strengths in surgery, medicine, haematology and biochemistry – and decades of planning and determination – the School of Clinical Medicine was formally established on 27 September 1976. Since then, pioneering discoveries, inspirational teaching, philanthropic support and strong partnerships with the NHS, industry and funders have shaped its achievements. Today, the School continues to grow as a global leader in medical education and research, with a commitment to improving the health of patients and communities.
Two new hospitals will play a central role in this future. The Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will bring together world-class research and care to detect cancer earlier and deliver personalised treatment. The Cambridge Children’s Hospital will integrate physical and mental healthcare, transforming outcomes for young people and their families.


The wider Cambridge Biomedical Campus is now Europe’s largest centre of medical research and health science. For more than six decades, it has led global health innovation – from the development of antibody technologies used in major classes of medicines, to breakthroughs in organ transplantation and advances in precision medicine. Its defining strength is the power of proximity.
Researchers, clinicians, students and industry partners work side by side across the Campus in an ecosystem that includes the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (holder of 12 Nobel Prizes), major biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies such as AstraZeneca, GSK, BioNTech and Abcam, three NHS trusts caring for more than a million patients each year, high-tech clinical trial facilities and multiple University research institutes.
As Professor Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine, notes: “Proximity plays a vital role in shaping the unique and effective relationship between the University of Cambridge and the NHS hospital trusts on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. It fosters a deep, day-to-day understanding of the challenges and opportunities we share. This close connection has been fundamental to the development of the vision for the Campus.”



Clinical School’s events at the Cambridge Festival
Big Biomedical Campus Day (21 March)
Hosted at the Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology, this event is our Family Day, with interactive activities about the latest research across the University’s cutting edge Biomedical Campus.
Guided tours of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (25 March)
Running throughout the day, these tours will offer visitors the chance to explore the Campus, learn about its history and discover how research, clinical care and industry come together to advance global health.
From Past to Future: 50 Years of the School of Clinical Medicine (30 March)
Held in the Keynes Library following Professor Giles Yeo’s keynote Union talk, this In Conversation event marks the 50 year milestone of the School of Clinical Medicine. Together, we will reflect on the School’s origins, celebrate key milestones in research, education and partnership with the NHS, and explore the ambitions shaping the next decades.
The Cambridge Festival is a mixture of online, on-demand and in-person events covering all aspects of the world-leading research happening at Cambridge. Meet some of the researchers and thought-leaders working in some of the pioneering fields that will impact us all.
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source: www.cam.ac.uk