The UK has world-leading expertise in the biology of ageing. But where is the best place in the UK for ageing research? The British Society for Research on Ageing is often asked this question. but it is hard to answer. One way to quantify activity in ageing research across the country is through the BSRA membership data.
In our second update to the our League Table of institutions ranked by number of members, the total number of members with a UK affiliation has increased from 174 in February 2025 to 201 in September 2025.
The Babraham Institute has jumped to the top of the table with 19 members.
Below them are previous table-toppers University of Birmingham, which has also increased its member numbers. In third place is the University of Oxford, with University College London and the University of Westminster in joint 4th place. Westminster is another institution that has moved up the table – from joint 6th last time.
In 6th place are Aston University and 7th place is the University of Glasgow.
The Babraham Institute is the BBSRC Institute for Healthy Ageing and was well represented at the BSRA Annual Scientific Meeting in 2025.
David Weinkove, Chair of the BSRA, and Professor at Durham University said “Congratulations to the Babraham Institute and all the other institutes that have increased their membership. It’s great to see more and more involvement in our Society. The BSRA has members across 54 UK institutions doing excellent research. For researchers from institutions that feel they are under-represented by this table, I would ask them to encourage more of their colleagues to join the BSRA and get involved with our Vision to increase the research on ageing and help it be turned into real world outcomes, keeping people healthy for longer”
Full data here