Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition
The Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition (IBCHN) was established in 1989. Prior to this period, it was a research unit at the Nuffield Institute of Comparative Medicine, The Zoological Society of London for thirty years. Initially, the IBCHN was located at the Hayward Research Building, Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children, Hackney, London. It is from this research hospital that the late Dr Bernard Laurence helped pioneer the work on maternal and neonatal nutrition. To illustrate the development of neonatal nutrition, he once recounted, "When I started as a consultant in 1950, we did not think that premature babies, particularly the very small ones, needed feeding immediately they were born. There were so many problems that feeding had to be delayed for up to 56 hours after they were born."
The IBCHN relocated at the London Metropolitan University (formerly University of North London) in 1996, when the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was earmarked for closure. This provided a golden opportunity to broaden our research base through interaction with the various departments of the University and with students of different ethnic and social backgrounds.
