The LMS Gene Home is an immersive public engagement installation inspired by Michael McMillan’s artwork The Front Room, which recreates a 1970s Windrush family living room. Building on this domestic setting, the exhibition invites visitors to explore their health and the research taking place at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS). 

Immersion has been shown to make people more receptive to ideas, including sensitive topics such as animal research. As such, the immersive nature of the LMS Gene Home was ideal for the Animal Research Corner stand. 

Located in the garden area of our LMS Gene Home, Animal Research Corner invited visitors to explore the role of animals in medical research through interactive activities and conversations with our researchers. As signatories of the UK Concordat on Openness on Animal Research, the LMS is committed to being transparent about when, why and how animals are used in research. A key focus of the activity was the 3Rs – Replacement, Reduction and Refinement – the guiding principles that help improve animal welfare while supporting high-quality scientific research. 

Over the weekend, more than 1,400 people came to see the LMS Gene Home, with visitors voting the LMS Gene Home as the third most popular activity at the festival. Its success demonstrated how open, engaging conversations about animal research can resonate with public audiences and led to the team receiving the 2026 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Animal Research (Engagement). 

The activity was the result of a strong collaboration between staff at the LMS, Imperial and the charity Understanding Animal Research. The original idea came from Yu Liu, Research Operations Manager at the LMS, during a co-design workshop with LMS staff. The activity was further developed by Lindsay Keith and Thomas Wells from the LMS Engagement and Communications team, with guidance from Anna Napolitano, Communications and 3Rs Programme Manager at Imperial, and Understanding Animal Research. Alice Pollard, a scientist at the LMS, also joined the team to discuss her research developing adipose organoids – small clusters of fat cells that can help replace the use of animals in some areas of research. 

 Congratulations to Yu Liu, Alice Pollard, Anna Napolitano, Lindsay Keith and Thomas Wells.