New lymph node research centre to be established at Cardiff University
14 October 2025
A £1.7m grant by the Medical Research Council (MRC) will establish a network of lymph node research centres across the UK, including at Cardiff University, putting UK universities at the forefront of groundbreaking lymph node research.
The novel LEGACY IIII Network (Lymph nodE single cell Genomics AnCestrY immunity, infection, inflammation and immunisation) will be co-led by the Universities of Oxford, Cardiff and Newcastle and will establish ten specialist lymph node research centres across the country.
Our goal is to accelerate discoveries in immunology that can benefit patients across a range of medical conditions, from infectious diseases, autoimmune disease and age-related immune decline.
Lymph nodes are small organs essential in defending the body against infections, cancer, and autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. They react to vaccines by swelling with antibody-producing white blood cells and may represent critical targets for new drug therapies. However, current knowledge about lymph node function is limited due to reliance on indirect blood analyses or examination of diseased lymph nodes. This limits the development of targeted drugs and vaccines.
Dr Lucy Jones, Clinical Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University School of Medicine said: “This funding provides a unique opportunity to build a sustainable research network, strengthen collaborations with scientists across the UK, and establish a Welsh Lymph Node Research Hub at Cardiff University. Our goal is to accelerate discoveries in immunology that can benefit patients across a range of medical conditions, from infectious diseases, autoimmune disease and age-related immune decline."
A national network of expert lymph node research centres is expected to be transformative for British science in this growing field, helping to drive forward research through targeted training and strategic regional development. It will enable substantial benefits nationally and globally across discovery science in infection and immunity, drug and vaccine development, commercial partnerships, and related fields such as cancer research.
We are delighted to be a part of this exciting initiative that drives forward our understanding of the immune system and how it can both protect us and harm us. Recognising the importance of lymph nodes across both infectious and chronic disease and across the whole life course is vital.
Professor Katrina Pollock, Chief Investigator for the LEGACY Network at the Oxford Vaccine Group, said: “The establishment of this national network of lymph node centres represents a transformative step for UK biomedical research. Until now, our understanding has been restricted by indirect methods and studies of diseased tissue. By collaborating with our academic partners to create these ten dedicated centres, we can study healthy lymph node function directly for the first time, paving the way for targeted therapies and next-generation vaccines.”
In addition to the three lead university sites, the other centres will be built at the universities of Birmingham, University College London (UCL), Liverpool, Glasgow, St. George’s Vaccine Institute and two at the University of Cambridge.
The LEGACY network is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
