| Biography | The Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) was founded in 1902 as the Cancer Research Fund, changing its name to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund two years later. The charity grew over the next twenty years to become one of the world's leading cancer research charities. Its flagship laboratories at Lincoln's Inn Fields and Clare Hall are now known as the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute.
The British Empire Cancer Campaign (BECC) was founded in 1923, and initially drew a hostile response from The Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) and the Medical Research Council, who considered it a rival. "The Campaign", as it was colloquially known, became a very successful and powerful grant-giving body. In 1970, the charity was renamed The Cancer Research Campaign (CRC).
In 2002 the two charities agreed to merge to form Cancer Research UK, the largest independent research organisation in the world dedicated to fighting cancer (The largest, the National Cancer Institute, is funded by the US Government). |