Research

An overview of our research.

Over 1,200 staff and students collaborate across our core research areas, bringing together expertise that spans the body and life course.

Together, we work to advance the understanding, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of major health conditions - including heart disease, stroke, metabolic dysfunction, mental illness, dementia and neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.

Empowered by genetics, advanced imaging, artificial intelligence and clinical trials, our research seamlessly connects discovery science with clinical care.

Our community attracts over £50 million in external peer-reviewed funding each year.

Within our institute

As part of driving progress in our core research areas, we host several leading research centres and house state-of-the-art technologies.

Explore these centres and facilities through the links below.

The Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic is a charitable University of Edinburgh clinical research facility. We deliver research and trials for people with neurodegenerative diseases, as well as hosting NHS Lothian specialist clinics for these conditions.


The BHF Centre of Research Excellence in Edinburgh is funded by a five-year award from the British Heart Foundation to accelerate our science. By collaborating across disciplines and institutions, we will deliver bold discoveries and foster the next generation of research leaders.


The Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention works to reduce the number of pesticide suicides worldwide. We are a philanthropically funded research and policy initiative within the University of Edinburgh.


Pioneering vital research into motor neuron disease. Uniting over 200 scientists and health professionals across Scotland.


Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility provides state of the art facilities to support multidisciplinary clinical research locally, nationally and internationally.


Edinburgh Imaging delivers world class imaging outputs to meet research & diagnostic needs. Principal user groups are academic researchers, NHS clinicians & commercial imaging organisations, including biotech, pharmaceutical & private medical industries.


Created in 2004, the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory works to improve understanding of what causes early labour, how we can develop treatments to prevent it and how we can better help newborn babies in those first crucial hours and days after birth.


The project, co-funded by the Medical Research Council and British Heart Foundation, builds on the huge progress made in genomics – which allows the genetic basis of many diseases and processes to be identified – and advances in genome editing and other gene therapies. The initiative is co-led by the Universities of Edinburgh, Oxford, and King’s College London.

A dedicated website is coming soon. In the meantime, click the link below to read the latest news story about the launch.


The MS Society Edinburgh Centre for MS Research is a multidisciplinary centre-without-walls funded by the MS Society, dedicated to laboratory, translational and clinical research into multiple sclerosis.


Investigating the causes of childhood-onset epilepsy.


The Patrick Wild Centre is a research centre at the University of Edinburgh which aims to better understand genetic conditions affecting brain development, and to improve the care and treatment available for people with these conditions. 


The main focus of the Row Fogo Centre for Research into Ageing and the Brain is to improve the understanding of how blood vessel diseases can damage the brain, leading to stroke, cognitive decline, dementia and mobility problems.


Discovering the biological mechanisms underlying autism.


Based in the Edinburgh BioQuarter, a centre of excellence for life sciences research and development, the UK DRI at Edinburgh aims to piece together how the different cells, systems and processes work together to keep our brains healthy as we age, and what goes wrong to trigger neurodegenerative disease.


Working at the interface of mental and physical health. The Hub for Metabolic Psychiatry is funded by UK Research and Innovation as part of the Mental Health Platform.


The Mental Health Platform is a network of researchers with the shared aim of accelerating research into severe mental illness (SMI) and improving the diagnosis and treatment of those affected. The Platform is funded by UK Research and Innovation.


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