Casimir Funk was a Polish biochemist generally credited with being among the first to formulate the concept of vitamins after publishing a landmark medical writing in 1912. He highlighted these "vital amines" as critical in fighting significant diseases such as pellagra and rickets, and his analysis influenced a major shift in scientific thinking. His scientific work involved research in Poland, France and the United Kingdom. In 1920, he became a citizen of the United States where he continued his work.

The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, informally known as the Lister Institute, was established as a research institute in 1891, with bacteriologist Marc Armand Ruffer as its first director, using a grant of £250,000 from Edward Cecil Guinness of the Guinness family. It had premises in Chelsea in London, Sudbury in Suffolk, and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. It was the first medical research charity in the United Kingdom. It was renamed the Jenner Institute in 1898 and then, in 1903, as the Lister Institute in honour of the great surgeon and medical pioneer, Dr Joseph Lister. In 1905, the institute became a school of the University of London.