Sanger Institute
Encyclopedia
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (previously known as 'The Sanger Centre') is a non-profit, British genomics
and genetics
research institute, primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust
.
It is located on the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
by the village of Hinxton
, outside Cambridge
. It shares this location with the European Bioinformatics Institute
. It was established in 1992 as The Sanger Centre, named after double Nobel Laureate, Frederick Sanger
. It was conceived as a large scale DNA sequencing
centre to participate in the Human Genome Project
, and went on to make the largest single contribution to the gold standard sequence of the human genome
. From its inception the Institute established and has maintained a policy of data sharing
, and does much of its research in collaboration
.
Since 2000, the Institute expanded its mission to understand "the role of genetics in health and disease". The Institute now employs around 900 people and engages in four main areas of research: Human genetics, pathogen genetics, mouse and zebrafish genetics and bioinformatics
.
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute was established in 1992, funded by the Wellcome Trust
and the UK's Medical Research Council
. One of the primary goals of the Institute on its creation, was to "play a role in mapping, sequencing and decoding the human genome
and the genomes of other organisms". The Sanger Institute now hosts several research programmes aiming to elucidate the associations between genes
and biological traits
- most often disease susceptibilities. The Sanger Institute has, since inception, maintained a policy that "aims to provide rapid access to data sets of use to the research community".
. This 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) site was to become the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, which has a growing population of around 1300 staff, approximately 900 of whom work at the Sanger Institute. The Genome Campus also includes the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre and the European Bioinformatics Institute. A major extension of the campus was officially opened in 2005; the buildings accommodate new laboratories, a data centre and staff amenities.
, and went on to make the largest single contribution to the gold standard sequence of the human genome
, published in 2004. The Institute was engaged in collaborations to sequence 8 of the 23 human pairs of chromosomes (1, 6, 9, 10, 13, 20, 22, and X
). Since the publishing of the human genome, research carried out at the Institute has developed beyond sequencing of organisms into various biomedical research areas, including studies into diseases such as cancer, malaria and diabetes.
was the founding Director of the Sanger Institute. Sulston was instrumental in the choice of the Hinxton site for the Institute and remained there as Director until the announcement of the completion of the draft human genome in 2000. Sulston graduated from the University of Cambridge
in 1963 and completed his PhD on the chemical synthesis of DNA in 1966. He shared the 2002 Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine with Robert Horvitz and Sydney Brenner
, two years after standing down as Director of the Institute.
In 2000, Allan Bradley left his appointment as Professor at the Baylor College of Medicine
, in the USA, to take up the position as Director of the Sanger Institute. Bradley wanted to build on the achievements made by the Sanger Institute in the Human Genome Project by "concentrating on gene function, cancer genomics, and the genomes of model organisms such as the mouse and the zebrafish". Bradley received his BA, MA and PhD in Genetics from the University of Cambridge.
In 2010, Bradley stepped down from his leadership role to form a startup company
, but remains on the faculty of the Institute as Director Emeritus. Mike Stratton
, who is a leader of the Cancer Genome Project
and the International Cancer Genome Consortium
, was appointed Director of the Sanger Institute in May of that year.
skills to develop new programmes in postgenomic biology
- understanding the messages in genes
. The Institute engages in four main areas of research:
focuses on the characterisation of human genetic variation
in health and disease. Aside from the Institute's contribution to the Human Genome Project
, researchers at the Sanger Institute have made contributions in various research areas relating to disease, population comparative and evolutionary genetics
. In January 2008, the launch of the 1000 Genomes Project, a collaboration with scientists around the globe, signalled an effort to sequence the genomes of 1000 individuals in order to create the "most detailed map of human genetic variation to support disease studies". The data from the pilot projects was made freely available in public databases in June 2010. In 2010, the Sanger Institute announced its participation in the UK10K project, which will sequence the genomes of 10,000 individuals to identify rare genetic variants and their effects on human health. The Sanger Institute is also part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium
, an international effort to describe different cancer tumour types. It is also part of the GENCODE
and ENCODE
research programmes to create an encyclopaedia of DNA elements.
-pathogen
interactions. Research is underway at the Sanger Institute into the genomes of pathogens including many bacteria
, virus
es and parasites
. The Pathogen Sequencing Advisory Group (PSAG) considers proposals or suggestions for sequencing of any genome of particular importance. All the genomes after sequencing are made available at the web-based onsite-maintained database, GeneDB.
systems for sequencing and postgenomic research. The Institute houses genome resources, RNA, protein and other family
resources and functional annotation databases and resources. Researchers worldwide are able to use these resources to make inferences of genomic knowledge through computational analysis and integration of data.
samples each week. The Institute "capitalises on leading-edge technologies to answer questions unanswerable only a few years ago". The advances in technology allow the Sanger Institute to carry out sequencing of the genomes of individual humans, vertebrate
species
and pathogens, at an ever increasing pace and reducing cost. The Institute has more than 100 ongoing pathogen sequencing projects. The output of the Sanger Institute is around 10 billion bases
of raw sequence data per day.
-driven science in a variety of scientific fields. They are:
; over 90 percent of the Institute's research papers involve collaborations with other organisations. Significant collaborations include:
activity. The programme aims to make complex biomedical research accessible to a range of audiences including school students and their teachers, and local community members.
The Communication and Public Engagement programme aims to "encourage informed discussion about issues relevant to Sanger Institute research" and "foster a community of researchers who can engage effectively with different audiences". The Institute hosts visits for more than 1,500 students, teachers and community groups per year. Visitors may meet scientific staff, tour the Institute and its facilities, and participate in ethical debates and activities. The programme also offers professional development sessions for teachers of GCSE and post 16 science through the national network of Science Learning Centres
, and by hosting visits for groups interested in updating their knowledge in contemporary genetics. Videoconferencing
into the Sanger Institute is also offered for Science Learning Centres, Science Centres and schools.
The programme maintains a dedicated public website, yourgenome.org, that is intended to help people understand genetics
and genomics
science and its implications for society. The website includes teaching resources for secondary school
science teachers that have been developed with Institute researchers.
Scientific and public engagement staff also collaborate on and contribute to national projects such as the UK's InsideDNA traveling exhibition and the Who am I? gallery at The Science Museum
. They also participate in public events such as the Cambridge Science Festival.
.
Genomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
and genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
research institute, primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
.
It is located on the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
The Wellcome Trust Genome Campus is a scientific research campus built in the grounds of Hinxton Hall, located in the village of Hinxton, Cambridgeshire....
by the village of Hinxton
Hinxton
Hinxton is a village in South Cambridgeshire, England. It is the home to the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, which includes the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute. The 2001 population was 315....
, outside Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. It shares this location with the European Bioinformatics Institute
European Bioinformatics Institute
The European Bioinformatics Institute is a centre for research and services in bioinformatics, and is part of European Molecular Biology Laboratory...
. It was established in 1992 as The Sanger Centre, named after double Nobel Laureate, Frederick Sanger
Frederick Sanger
Frederick Sanger, OM, CH, CBE, FRS is an English biochemist and a two-time Nobel laureate in chemistry, the only person to have been so. In 1958 he was awarded a Nobel prize in chemistry "for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin"...
. It was conceived as a large scale DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing includes several methods and technologies that are used for determining the order of the nucleotide bases—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine—in a molecule of DNA....
centre to participate in the Human Genome Project
Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...
, and went on to make the largest single contribution to the gold standard sequence of the human genome
Human genome
The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens, which is stored on 23 chromosome pairs plus the small mitochondrial DNA. 22 of the 23 chromosomes are autosomal chromosome pairs, while the remaining pair is sex-determining...
. From its inception the Institute established and has maintained a policy of data sharing
Data sharing
Data sharing is the practice of making data used for scholarly research available to other investigators. Replication has a long history in science...
, and does much of its research in collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
.
Since 2000, the Institute expanded its mission to understand "the role of genetics in health and disease". The Institute now employs around 900 people and engages in four main areas of research: Human genetics, pathogen genetics, mouse and zebrafish genetics and bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
.
History of the Sanger Institute
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
and the UK's Medical Research Council
Medical Research Council (UK)
The Medical Research Council is a publicly-funded agency responsible for co-ordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is one of seven Research Councils in the UK and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
. One of the primary goals of the Institute on its creation, was to "play a role in mapping, sequencing and decoding the human genome
Human genome
The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens, which is stored on 23 chromosome pairs plus the small mitochondrial DNA. 22 of the 23 chromosomes are autosomal chromosome pairs, while the remaining pair is sex-determining...
and the genomes of other organisms". The Sanger Institute now hosts several research programmes aiming to elucidate the associations between genes
Gênes
Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...
and biological traits
Trait (biology)
A trait is a distinct variant of a phenotypic character of an organism that may be inherited, environmentally determined or be a combination of the two...
- most often disease susceptibilities. The Sanger Institute has, since inception, maintained a policy that "aims to provide rapid access to data sets of use to the research community".
Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
In 1993 the then 17 Sanger Institute staff moved into temporary laboratory space at Hinxton Hall in CambridgeshireCambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. This 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) site was to become the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, which has a growing population of around 1300 staff, approximately 900 of whom work at the Sanger Institute. The Genome Campus also includes the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre and the European Bioinformatics Institute. A major extension of the campus was officially opened in 2005; the buildings accommodate new laboratories, a data centre and staff amenities.
Human Genome Project
The Sanger Institute was opened in 1993, three years after the inception of the Human Genome ProjectHuman Genome Project
The Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...
, and went on to make the largest single contribution to the gold standard sequence of the human genome
Human genome
The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens, which is stored on 23 chromosome pairs plus the small mitochondrial DNA. 22 of the 23 chromosomes are autosomal chromosome pairs, while the remaining pair is sex-determining...
, published in 2004. The Institute was engaged in collaborations to sequence 8 of the 23 human pairs of chromosomes (1, 6, 9, 10, 13, 20, 22, and X
X chromosome
The X chromosome is one of the two sex-determining chromosomes in many animal species, including mammals and is common in both males and females. It is a part of the XY sex-determination system and X0 sex-determination system...
). Since the publishing of the human genome, research carried out at the Institute has developed beyond sequencing of organisms into various biomedical research areas, including studies into diseases such as cancer, malaria and diabetes.
Leadership
John E. SulstonJohn E. Sulston
Sir John Edward Sulston FRS is a British biologist. He is a joint winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.He is currently Chair of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University of Manchester....
was the founding Director of the Sanger Institute. Sulston was instrumental in the choice of the Hinxton site for the Institute and remained there as Director until the announcement of the completion of the draft human genome in 2000. Sulston graduated from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1963 and completed his PhD on the chemical synthesis of DNA in 1966. He shared the 2002 Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in Physiology or Medicine with Robert Horvitz and Sydney Brenner
Sydney Brenner
Sydney Brenner, CH FRS is a South African biologist and a 2002 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate, shared with H...
, two years after standing down as Director of the Institute.
In 2000, Allan Bradley left his appointment as Professor at the Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and leading center for biomedical research and clinical care...
, in the USA, to take up the position as Director of the Sanger Institute. Bradley wanted to build on the achievements made by the Sanger Institute in the Human Genome Project by "concentrating on gene function, cancer genomics, and the genomes of model organisms such as the mouse and the zebrafish". Bradley received his BA, MA and PhD in Genetics from the University of Cambridge.
In 2010, Bradley stepped down from his leadership role to form a startup company
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
, but remains on the faculty of the Institute as Director Emeritus. Mike Stratton
Michael Stratton
Professor Michael Rudolf Stratton, FRS is a British clinical scientist and the third Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. He currently heads the Cancer Genome Project and is a leader of the International Cancer Genome Consortium.- Career :...
, who is a leader of the Cancer Genome Project
Cancer Genome Project
The Cancer Genome Project, based at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, aims to identify sequence variants/mutations critical in the development of human cancers...
and the International Cancer Genome Consortium
International Cancer Genome Consortium
The International Cancer Genome Consortium is a voluntary scientific organization that provides a forum for collaboration among the world's leading cancer and genomic researchers....
, was appointed Director of the Sanger Institute in May of that year.
Research
Since 2000, the Sanger Institute has built on its sequencingSequencing
In genetics and biochemistry, sequencing means to determine the primary structure of an unbranched biopolymer...
skills to develop new programmes in postgenomic biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
- understanding the messages in genes
Gênes
Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...
. The Institute engages in four main areas of research:
Human Genetics
The Sanger Institute's research in human geneticsHuman genetics
Human genetics describes the study of inheritance as it occurs in human beings. Human genetics encompasses a variety of overlapping fields including: classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, genomics, population genetics, developmental genetics, clinical genetics,...
focuses on the characterisation of human genetic variation
Human genetic variation
Human genetic variation refers to genetic differences both within and among populations. There may be multiple variants of any given gene in the human population , leading to polymorphism. Many genes are not polymorphic, meaning that only a single allele is present in the population: that allele is...
in health and disease. Aside from the Institute's contribution to the Human Genome Project
Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...
, researchers at the Sanger Institute have made contributions in various research areas relating to disease, population comparative and evolutionary genetics
Evolutionary genetics
Evolutionary genetics is the broad field of studies that attempts to account for evolution in terms of changes in gene and genotype frequencies within populations and the processes that convert the variation with populations into more or less permanent variation between species...
. In January 2008, the launch of the 1000 Genomes Project, a collaboration with scientists around the globe, signalled an effort to sequence the genomes of 1000 individuals in order to create the "most detailed map of human genetic variation to support disease studies". The data from the pilot projects was made freely available in public databases in June 2010. In 2010, the Sanger Institute announced its participation in the UK10K project, which will sequence the genomes of 10,000 individuals to identify rare genetic variants and their effects on human health. The Sanger Institute is also part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium
International Cancer Genome Consortium
The International Cancer Genome Consortium is a voluntary scientific organization that provides a forum for collaboration among the world's leading cancer and genomic researchers....
, an international effort to describe different cancer tumour types. It is also part of the GENCODE
GENCODE
GENCODE is a scientific project in genome research and part of the ENCODE scale-up project.The aim of the GENCODE project is to annotate all evidence-based gene features in the entire human genome at a high accuracy...
and ENCODE
ENCODE
ENCODE is a public research consortium launched by the US National Human Genome Research Institute in September 2003. The goal is to find all functional elements in the human genome, one of the most critical projects by NHGRI after it completed the successful Human Genome Project...
research programmes to create an encyclopaedia of DNA elements.
Model organisms
Mouse and zebrafish genetics programme at the Sanger Institute uses genome sequence of these model organisms to understand basic biological mechanisms, and gene function in human health and disease. Projects include the study of development, cancer, hearing and behaviour.Pathogen genetics
The Institute carries out research in pathogen genetics to bolster understanding of the effects of genome variation on the biology of hostHost (biology)
In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna...
-pathogen
Pathogen
A pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
interactions. Research is underway at the Sanger Institute into the genomes of pathogens including many bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
, virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es and parasites
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
. The Pathogen Sequencing Advisory Group (PSAG) considers proposals or suggestions for sequencing of any genome of particular importance. All the genomes after sequencing are made available at the web-based onsite-maintained database, GeneDB.
Bioinformatics
The Sanger Institute's bioinformatics teams have developed ITInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
systems for sequencing and postgenomic research. The Institute houses genome resources, RNA, protein and other family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
resources and functional annotation databases and resources. Researchers worldwide are able to use these resources to make inferences of genomic knowledge through computational analysis and integration of data.
Sequencing
The Sanger Institute's Sequencing staff handle millions of DNADNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
samples each week. The Institute "capitalises on leading-edge technologies to answer questions unanswerable only a few years ago". The advances in technology allow the Sanger Institute to carry out sequencing of the genomes of individual humans, vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
and pathogens, at an ever increasing pace and reducing cost. The Institute has more than 100 ongoing pathogen sequencing projects. The output of the Sanger Institute is around 10 billion bases
Bases
Bases may refer to:*Bases , a military style of dress adopted by the chivalry of the sixteenth century.*Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students...
of raw sequence data per day.
Faculty
The Sanger Institute is home to a Faculty of nearly 40 experts whose areas of interest represent the Sanger Institute's genetics research programmes. These research leaders engage in hypothesisHypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...
-driven science in a variety of scientific fields. They are:
| Adams, David | Experimental Cancer Genetics |
| Anderson, Carl | Statistical Genetics |
| Barrett, Jeffrey | Statistical and computational genetics of human disease |
| Barroso, Inês | Metabolic Disease Group |
| Bateman, Alex | Classification of protein and RNA families |
| Berriman, Matt | Parasite Genomics |
| Billker, Oliver | Malaria Programme |
| Bradley, Allan | Mouse Genomics |
| Campbell, Peter | Cancer Genome Project |
| Carter, Nigel | Molecular Cytogenetics |
| Deloukas, Panos | Genetics of complex traits in humans |
| Dougan, Gordon | Microbial Pathogenesis |
| Durbin, Richard | Genome Informatics |
| Futreal, Andy | Cancer Genome Project |
| Gaffney, Daniel | Population and evolutionary genomics of gene regulation |
| Hubbard, Tim | Vertebrate Genome Analysis |
| Hurles, Matthew | Genome Dynamics and Evolution |
| Kellam, Paul | Virus Genomics |
| Kwiatkowski, Dominic | Malaria Programme |
| Lawley, Trevor | Bacterial Pathogenesis |
| Liu, Pentao | Mouse Cancer Genetics |
| Logan, Darren | Genetics of Instinctive Behaviour |
| McDermott, Ultan | Cancer Genome Project |
| Mustonen, Ville | Population Genomics of Molecular Phenotypes |
| Palotie, Aarno | Genetics of Common Neurological Diseases |
| Parkhill, Julian | Pathogen Sequencing |
| Rayner, Julian | Malaria Programme |
| Sandhu, Manj | Genetic Epidemiology |
| Skarnes, Bill | Gene Trap Mutagenesis |
| Soranzo, Nicole | Genomics of quantitative trait variation in humans |
| Steel, Karen | Genetics of Deafness |
| Stemple, Derek | Vertebrate Development and Genetics |
| Stratton, Mike Michael Stratton Professor Michael Rudolf Stratton, FRS is a British clinical scientist and the third Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. He currently heads the Cancer Genome Project and is a leader of the International Cancer Genome Consortium.- Career :... |
Cancer Genome Project |
| Tyler-Smith, Chris | Human Evolution |
| Wright, Gavin | Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory |
| Yadav, Vijay | Systems biology of Bone |
| Zeggini, Eleftheria | Applied Statistical Genetics |
Collaborations
Much of the Sanger Institute's research is carried out in partnership with the wider scientific communityScientific community
The scientific community consists of the total body of scientists, its relationships and interactions. It is normally divided into "sub-communities" each working on a particular field within science. Objectivity is expected to be achieved by the scientific method...
; over 90 percent of the Institute's research papers involve collaborations with other organisations. Significant collaborations include:
- The Human Genome ProjectHuman Genome ProjectThe Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...
- SNP (Single nucleotide polymorphismSingle nucleotide polymorphismA single-nucleotide polymorphism is a DNA sequence variation occurring when a single nucleotide — A, T, C or G — in the genome differs between members of a biological species or paired chromosomes in an individual...
) Consortium - International HapMap ProjectInternational HapMap ProjectThe International HapMap Project is an organization that aims to develop a haplotype map of the human genome, which will describe the common patterns of human genetic variation. HapMap is a key resource for researchers to find genetic variants affecting health, disease and responses to drugs and...
- The genome sequencing of S. pombe, C. elegansCaenorhabditis elegansCaenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode , about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments. Research into the molecular and developmental biology of C. elegans was begun in 1974 by Sydney Brenner and it has since been used extensively as a model...
, mouseMouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
and the MalariaMalariaMalaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
parasite. - The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium
- The Copy Number Variation Project
- International Knockout Mouse ConsortiumInternational Knockout Mouse ConsortiumThe International Knockout Mouse Consortium is a scientific endeavour to produce a collection of mouse embryonic stem cell lines that together lack every gene in the genome, and then to distribute the cells to scientific researchers to create knockout mice to study...
- 1000 Genomes Project
- International Cancer Genome ConsortiumInternational Cancer Genome ConsortiumThe International Cancer Genome Consortium is a voluntary scientific organization that provides a forum for collaboration among the world's leading cancer and genomic researchers....
- GENCODEGENCODEGENCODE is a scientific project in genome research and part of the ENCODE scale-up project.The aim of the GENCODE project is to annotate all evidence-based gene features in the entire human genome at a high accuracy...
and ENCODEENCODEENCODE is a public research consortium launched by the US National Human Genome Research Institute in September 2003. The goal is to find all functional elements in the human genome, one of the most critical projects by NHGRI after it completed the successful Human Genome Project...
(ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements) - The UK 10,000 Genomes Project (UK10K)
Public Engagement
The Sanger Institute has a programme of public engagementPublic engagement
Public engagement is a term that has recently been used, particularly in the UK, to describe "the involvement of specialists listening to, developing their understanding of, and interacting with, non-specialists" .-Origins:The tradition of a decision-making body getting inputs from those with less...
activity. The programme aims to make complex biomedical research accessible to a range of audiences including school students and their teachers, and local community members.
The Communication and Public Engagement programme aims to "encourage informed discussion about issues relevant to Sanger Institute research" and "foster a community of researchers who can engage effectively with different audiences". The Institute hosts visits for more than 1,500 students, teachers and community groups per year. Visitors may meet scientific staff, tour the Institute and its facilities, and participate in ethical debates and activities. The programme also offers professional development sessions for teachers of GCSE and post 16 science through the national network of Science Learning Centres
Science Learning Centres
Science Learning Centres are a UK Government initiative to address the need for improved science education and development for teachers.-Origins:...
, and by hosting visits for groups interested in updating their knowledge in contemporary genetics. Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is the conduct of a videoconference by a set of telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously...
into the Sanger Institute is also offered for Science Learning Centres, Science Centres and schools.
The programme maintains a dedicated public website, yourgenome.org, that is intended to help people understand genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
and genomics
Genomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
science and its implications for society. The website includes teaching resources for secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
science teachers that have been developed with Institute researchers.
Scientific and public engagement staff also collaborate on and contribute to national projects such as the UK's InsideDNA traveling exhibition and the Who am I? gallery at The Science Museum
Science Museum (London)
The Science Museum is one of the three major museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. The museum is a major London tourist attraction....
. They also participate in public events such as the Cambridge Science Festival.
Resources
Bioinformatic databases resources are one of the outcomes of research programmes that the Sanger Institute is involved in. Those hosted by the Sanger Institute include:- COSMICCOSMIC cancer databaseCOSMIC is an online database of somatically acquired mutations found in human cancer. Somatic mutations are those that occur in non-germline cells that are not inherited by children...
, a catalogue of somaticSomaticThe term somatic means 'of the body',, relating to the body. In medicine, somatic illness is bodily, not mental, illness. The term is often used in biology to refer to the cells of the body in contrast to the germ line cells which usually give rise to the gametes...
mutations in cancer - DECIPHERDECIPHERDECIPHER is a web-based resource and database of array comparative genomic hybridization data from analysis of patient DNA. It documents submicroscopic chromosome abnormalities, including microdeletions and duplications, from over 6000 patients and maps them to the human genome using the Ensembl...
, a database of chromosomal imbalance and phenotypePhenotypeA phenotype is an organism's observable characteristics or traits: such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, behavior, and products of behavior...
in humans, using Ensembl resources - EnsemblEnsemblEnsembl is a joint scientific project between the European Bioinformatics Institute and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, which was launched in 1999 in response to the imminent completion of the Human Genome Project...
, a genome browser co-hosted by the European Bioinformatics Institute. - GeneDB, a pathogenPathogenA pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
sequence database - MEROPSMeropsMerops may refer to:* Merops , a genus of bee-eaters.* MEROPS, an on-line database for peptidases.It may also refer to several figures from Greek mythology:* King of Ethiopia, husband of Clymene, who lay with Helios and bore Phaethon...
, a peptidase database - PfamPfamPfam is a database of protein families that includes their annotations and multiple sequence alignments generated using hidden Markov models.- Features :For each family in Pfam one can:* Look at multiple alignments* View protein domain architectures...
, a protein familyProtein familyA protein family is a group of evolutionarily-related proteins, and is often nearly synonymous with gene family. The term protein family should not be confused with family as it is used in taxonomy....
database - RfamRfamRfam is a database containing information about non-coding RNA families and other structured RNA elements. It is an annotated, open access database hosted by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in collaboration with Janelia Farm...
, an RNARNARibonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....
family database - TreeFamTreefamTreeFam is a database of phylogenetic trees of animal genes. It aims at developing a curated resource that gives reliable information about ortholog and paralog assignments, and evolutionary history of various gene families....
, a database of phylogenetic trees for animal genes - VegaVertebrate and Genome Annotation ProjectThe Vertebrate and Genome Annotation project provides manual curation of vertebrate genomes for the scientific community. The Vega data repository is publicly available, regularly updated and includes annotations of several finished vertebrate genome sequences: human, mouse, zebrafish, pig and...
, a vertebrate genome annotation resource - WormBaseWormBaseWormBase is an online bioinformatics database of the biology and genome of the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans and related nematodes....
, a database on the biology and sequence of the model organismModel organismA model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Model organisms are in vivo models and are widely used to...
C. elegansCaenorhabditis elegansCaenorhabditis elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode , about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments. Research into the molecular and developmental biology of C. elegans was begun in 1974 by Sydney Brenner and it has since been used extensively as a model...
Graduate training
The Institute operates two PhD training programmes: a four year course for basic science graduates, and a thee year course for clinicians. The four year course permits students to rotate around three different laboratories in order to broaden their scientific horizons before choosing a PhD project. Each student is required to choose at least one experimental one informatics-based rotation project. Institute houses approximately 50 pre-doctoral students, all of whom are registered at the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
See also
- European Bioinformatics InstituteEuropean Bioinformatics InstituteThe European Bioinformatics Institute is a centre for research and services in bioinformatics, and is part of European Molecular Biology Laboratory...
- HinxtonHinxtonHinxton is a village in South Cambridgeshire, England. It is the home to the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, which includes the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute. The 2001 population was 315....
- The International Cancer Genome ConsortiumInternational Cancer Genome ConsortiumThe International Cancer Genome Consortium is a voluntary scientific organization that provides a forum for collaboration among the world's leading cancer and genomic researchers....
- The Medical Research CouncilMedical Research Council (UK)The Medical Research Council is a publicly-funded agency responsible for co-ordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is one of seven Research Councils in the UK and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
- The Wellcome TrustWellcome TrustThe Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
External links
- The Sanger Institute
- Your Genome (Sanger Institute run Public Engagement website)
- Hinxton: Courses and Conferences
- Sir John Sulston awarded a share in the 2002 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
- The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium
- Dodson G (2005). "Fred Sanger: sequencing pioneer". The Biochemist 27: 31-35.
- Sanger F, Lagnado J (2005). "Fred Sanger: The Interview". The Biochemist 27: 37-39.
- About Fred Sanger, biography from the Sanger Institute