Welcome to The Griffin Institute

Welcome to The Griffin Institute

A message from our Honorary President

Welcome to The Griffin Institute, a not-for-profit, charitable research institute with a vision to transform and restore patient quality of life and an ambition to be a world leader in biomedical research and training. Based at Northwick Park hospital, in northwest London, the Institute is already one of the best in the UK when it comes to translating ground-breaking medical research into patient care, with researchers working in our facility having achieved many world-firsts in scientific discovery.

I have been fortunate enough to be in a position to fund the refurbishment of the new state-of-the-art research suite at The Griffin Institute, providing a fantastic environment for the sharing of ideas and the coming together of specialist scientists from all over the world.

I have always been a passionate supporter of healthcare research in the UK, having undergone life-saving treatment as a child after I contracted bovine tuberculosis on my first camping trip. I was in hospital for months and received cutting-edge drugs that were only just in development, and which miraculously proved to be my saviours. Since then, I’m very lucky that both myself and my family have managed to avoid hospital wards, but I am only too aware of the value of scientific discovery, which we so often only appreciate when our own lives are on the line.

I made my money driving minicabs, launching Addison Lee with nothing more than one car and a lot of ambition back in 1975. In 2013, the American private equity firm Carlyle Group approached us with an offer to buy the business for £350 million. I was sad to walk away but determined to put the money to good use.

Thanks to the funds invested so far, and to the incredible commitment and hard work of so many individuals, The Griffin Institute now has first-class facilities being developed to improve patient outcomes. Our theatre suites are used to run numerous internationally-renowned courses in surgical training and our scientists continue to work hard to develop highly-innovative materials to address the clinical problems associated with non-healing wounds and implants.

The Griffin Institute is going from strength to strength, translating the best in scientific endeavour into genuine successes for patients. But there is much more to do, and our achievements so far are just scratching the surface of what is possible. We now need to build on our current momentum to make sure funding remains available for future discoveries, and to support the many projects we are currently looking to embark upon.

I am so proud of the amazing new-look facilities we have developed. With the backing of more generous donors, I really believe the scientists working here can achieve even greater successes and transform the lives of many others.

Please get in touch if you would like to donate to The Griffin Institute and support its vision of radically improving outcomes for patients, the NHS and wider healthcare systems.

We may never know when we will be the patients, but we all know that it pays to invest in innovation. The life we save may be yours or that of a member of your family.

John Griffin, The Griffin Institute

A message from our Honorary President

Ways you can support us

There are so many ways you can support our work