Strategic Plan 2005-2010: Making a difference - Wellcome Trust

WELLCOME TRUST SANGER INSTITUTEWELLCOME TRUSTForming part of the WellcomeTrust Genome Campus atHinxton in Cambridgeshire,UK, the Wellcome Trust SangerInstitute is one of the world’sforemost centres for genomicsand bioinformatics research.Established in 1993, the SangerInstitute played a leading rolein the international HumanGenome Project – deliveringone-third of the human genomesequence (the largest singlecontribution). It has alsosequenced the genomes of manymedically important pathogenicorganisms – including the agentsthat cause malaria, tuberculosisand typhoid fever.During the period of the WellcomeTrust’s last Plan, we funded a£300 million five-year programmeof research at the Institute. Underthe leadership of Allan Bradley,the current Director, the focusof the Institute has shifted fromsequencing genomes to usingsequence data to answer importantbiological questions on the roleof genes in health and disease.To accommodate the expandedresearch programme at the SangerInstitute, the £95 million SouthField Project was completed in2005 – providing new laboratories,a data centre, research supportfacilities and offices.In addition to the Sanger Institute,the Genome Campus houses theEuropean Bioinformatics Institute(EBI). The Wellcome Trust hascommitted to work with the UKResearch Councils to create spacefor an expansion to this vitalresearch institute.The Genome Campus is alsohome to the Wellcome TrustConference Centre – a highqualityvenue for majorinternational scientific meetingsand conferences. Through itsAdvanced Courses programme,the Wellcome Trust has utilisedthe unique facilities availableon the Genome Campus toprovide hands-on training inthe latest research techniquesfor hundreds of scientists fromaround the world.The Wellcome Trust was createdon the death of Sir HenryWellcome in 1936. In 1880, HenryWellcome and his partner SilasMainville Burroughs establisheda pharmaceutical company,Burroughs Wellcome & Co.In 1895, Silas Burroughs died,leaving the company in thehands of his partner. The firmflourished under Henry Wellcome’sleadership. In his will, Wellcomevested the entire share capital ofthe drug company, The WellcomeFoundation Limited, in a charitabletrust – the Wellcome Trust.In the 1980s and 1990s, wediversified our asset base, sellingshares in the Wellcome drugcompany and investing theproceeds. The diversified portfolioof investment assets is around£11 billion (as of June 2005).INTRODUCTION STRATEGIC PLAN 2005–2010 5