Strategic Awards made

Strategic Awards provide flexible forms of support to facilitate research and/or training that is not possible under existing schemes. The aim is to add value to excellent research groups.

• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• 2009
• 2008
• 2007
• 2006

Grants awarded in 2012

Professor Simon Duckett, University of York
Hyperpolarisation as a new tool for probing neuroinflammatory disease
Although the crucial non-invasive technique of MRI is used in over 1.5 million procedures per year in the NHS, nearly half of these require the use of an injected heavy-metal contrast agent to provide diagnostic information about inflammation. Unfortunately, the use of these agents brings with it a risk of toxic side-effects and the actual response is only an indirect measure of the disease state in a tissue. While MRI has the potential to be able to directly probe a wide range of biologically important compounds, it cannot be routinely exploited to detect the low concentrations associated with most of these chemicals because of its very low sensitivity. The key goal of this Award is to secure a new technology to bring about, ultimately, a 200 000-fold improvement in the sensitivity of clinical scanners.

Dr Charles Fernyhough, Durham University
Hearing the Voice
Some people have the experience of hearing a voice when no speaker is present. While this experience is often associated with severe mental illness (such as schizophrenia), it also occurs in healthy people. This Award is the first large-scale interdisciplinary study of voice-hearing, examining it from as wide a range of relevant perspectives as possible. In doing so, the aim is to develop new methods for researching human experience which can be applied to other important questions in the future.

Professor Russell Foster, University of Oxford
Sleep & Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi)
Sleep is a highly complex state arising from an interaction between multiple brain regions, neurotransmitter pathways and hormones, none of which are exclusive to the generation of sleep. This complexity makes sleep very vulnerable to disruption. Small changes in brain function can have a big impact on sleep, and disrupted sleep leads to health problems ranging across increased stress hormones, heart disease, weight abnormalities, reduced immunity, increased risk of cancer, and emotional and cognitive problems. This Award aims to bring together neuroscientists and psychiatrists to understand these common connections, to develop new approaches to correcting abnormal sleep and, ultimately, to improve the broader health problems and quality of life for patients with mental illness.

Professor Ian Gilbert, University of Dundee
A translational engine for biomedical discoveries (Infrastructure Award)
The Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery (BCDD) aims to be a hub for early-phase drug discovery at the national and international level. Its aim is to develop chemical tools to help understand emerging and complex biology and, where possible, to develop these chemical tools to yield new drug candidates for human and animal health. Particular focuses are in neglected diseases and bacterial and fungal infections, as well as novel targets emerging from fundamental biology studies funded by the Wellcome Trust and others in the UK university sector.

Professor Gillian Griffiths, University of Cambridge
Cellular medicine and the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research
The goal of the Institute is to provide a research environment with outstanding core facilities and support, in order to understand the cell biology of disease and provide a basis for rational therapeutic strategies.

Professor Shabbar Jaffar, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Malawi Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Public Health
For over 30 years, the rural Karonga Prevention Study has made major contributions to the understanding and control of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases in Africa, by combining community-based studies and detailed laboratory investigations. HIV and tuberculosis continue to be important, but there has been a rapid increase in some non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This Award aims to determine the burden and the risk factors for major NCDs, in order to plan and evaluate interventions.

Professor Angus Lamond, University of Dundee
Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression
The vision of the Centre is to transform the study of gene regulation into a quantitative science by using advanced imaging, proteomics and computational tools. The research at the Centre is focused on the nucleus and involves characterisation of the composition, regulation and dynamic properties of organelles and proteins involved in RNA transcription, mRNA splicing, DNA replication, ribosome subunit production and chromatin structure.

Professor W H (Irwin) McLean, University of Dundee
A multidisciplinary research initiative aimed at translating basic science discoveries in genetic skin disease into clinical application
Dermatology is an under-resourced area of medical research. Despite this, the University of Dundee has established a critical mass of internationally renowned, award-winning researchers in genetic skin disease and dermatology therapy development. This project will strengthen this group of biologists, dermatologists, physicists and drug discovery scientists and help take this to the next level: treating patients with revolutionary new drugs rationally designed to target specific genetic skin disease. This Award will also strengthen the group's capacity for patient outreach and training of new investigators in dermatology research.

Professor John O'Keefe, University College London
Neural network analysis using a novel multichannel 'SMART' neuroprobe
The brain represents aspects of the external world, such as the form of an object or its location, by the activity of large numbers of cells acting together as an ensemble. Motor actions, which enable us to behave and act in the world, similarly rely on the cooperation of large numbers of cells. If we are to understand how the brain works, it follows that we will need to be able to record from many cells at the same time, and with current technology this is not possible. Manufacturing processes similar to those used in computers are opening up the possibility of developing new recording techniques. This Award will allow UK neuroscientists to take part in a consortium to develop a state-of-the-art probe, in concert with leading laboratories in the USA and Europe.

Professor Stephen O'Rahilly, University of Cambridge
Institute of Metabolic Science
Obesity and diabetes have a major impact on health. In Cambridge a significant contribution has been made to new discoveries that have the potential to lead to better ways to prevent and treat these conditions. The world-class researchers that have been assembled, combined with the excellent facilities that have been established, have brought within sight the goal of translating advances in scientific understanding into benefits for health.

Professor Michael J Owen, Cardiff University
DEFINE: Defining Endophenotypes From Integrated Neuroscience
Recent findings in genetics have advanced our understanding of psychiatric disorders in two important ways. First, they have indicated that disorders like schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and intellectual disability share genetic risk factors and are therefore likely to result from similar underlying brain abnormalities. Second, they point to an important role in these disorders for abnormalities in synapses, the structures through which brain cells communicate with each other. Understanding how genetic risk factors impact on brain function and behaviour will pave the way for the development of a new classification of mental disorders based on biology, and the development of novel approaches for treatment.

Professor Linda Partridge, University College London
Biological determinants of ageing and late life health, and their pharmacological manipulation: from model organisms to humans
The major burden of ill-health and disability now falls on the older section of the population. The ultimate goal of this programme of research is to improve people's health as they grow older. A striking finding from work with laboratory animals is that healthy lifespan can be extended by quite simple interventions such as diet, drugs and alterations to genes. This project will combine information about human ageing, from genetic studies of lifespan and ageing-related diseases and the effects of drugs on different diseases, to design a broad-spectrum, preventative medicine for the diseases of ageing.

Professor Nazneen Rahman, The Institute of Cancer Research
Using genetics in mainstream medicine to deliver personalised care for cancer patients
Knowledge of the genetic variants associated with cancer causation and treatment has considerable clinical impact. It is increasingly essential for the optimal management of cancer cases. Unfortunately, cancer gene testing is currently severely restricted. There is no NHS gene test available for over half of the known cancer predisposition genes and there are tight restrictions on access to gene testing. The restrictions are because current gene testing methods are laborious and expensive. Recently, new technologies have emerged that make gene testing much faster and cheaper. These new technologies will be used to develop a new test that covers all genetic variants of relevance to cancer.

Professor Austin Smith, University of Cambridge
Wellcome Trust/Medical Research Council Centre in Stem Cell Biology and Medicine - renewal of core support
The joint centre, to be known as the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (SCI), draws together 30 research teams to elucidate fundamental principles of stem cell identity, regulation and function, to translate this knowledge into new tools for drug discovery and diagnosis, and to pioneer therapeutic approaches based on stem cells. A major focus of the SCI will be to establish interdisciplinary research groupings to build the interface between basic and translational sciences and with the physical sciences. This will be achieved by cross-disciplinary projects and by training of clinicians and physical scientists.

Professor Steven Smith, University of Oxford
Integrated computational models for multimodal brain imaging
Scientists and doctors can take many different types of images of the brain in order to study different aspects of the brain and its function. Structural MRI gives detailed, still images of the structures in the brain and can distinguish grey matter (the parts that process information) from white matter (the wiring that carries information between grey matter areas). Functional MRI and MEG measure which grey matter areas are active during a specific physical or mental task. Diffusion and resting-state MRI tell us how these grey matter areas are connected, as well as the location of information pathways. A major challenge is to bring all these pieces of information together. This Award aims to combine different imaging data together, to use available brain scanning methods to their full potential, and therefore help with disease diagnosis and guide the search for effective treatments.

Dr André Strydom, University College London
The London Down Syndrome Consortium (LonDownS)
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common condition involving learning disability, and arises because people have an extra copy of chromosome number 21. This Award is for cutting-edge interdisciplinary research by leading geneticists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists to understand how learning disabilities develop in people with DS and to identify the processes involved in the decline that often occurs as people with DS age. This research will reveal how genes influence brain functions throughout life in people with DS and will hopefully lead to treatments to prevent decline and improve brain function, which can be tested in clinical trials.

Professor Fiona Watt, King’s College London and Dr Richard Durbin, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Human induced pluripotent stem cell consortium: genotype to phenotype
As it becomes cheaper and faster to sequence the DNA of individuals in the population, we are faced with two challenges. One is to discover which aspects of the genetic variation between individuals are compatible with good health and which are linked to increased risk of specific diseases. The other is that it is not always obvious why a particular genetic mutation causes a particular disease; if we knew the answer we would be better placed to devise new ways to treat that disease. A technique that can help us meet these challenges is to make stem cells, known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, from small samples of the skin or blood of healthy and diseased individuals. By comparing the DNA of iPS cells with the way the cells behave when grown in the laboratory, we can understand how variation in our DNA results in variation in cell behaviour and use this information to identify new disease mechanisms.

Wellcome Trust Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies - renewal of core support
Building on the extensive body of work completed over the past decade, the Centre aims in the next five years (2012-17) to demonstrate substantial reductions in the spread of HIV for current and future generations of adults and eliminate HIV as a major source of mortality and morbidity in this rural population. The Centre’s long-term goal is to be instrumental in the elimination of HIV transmission and acquisition and the mitigation of its impact in this rural population.

Themed call for mouse phenotyping initiatives

Professor Jim Smith, National Institute for Medical Research
Deciphering the mechanisms of developmental disorders
Around a quarter of all our genes are essential for development of babies in the womb. Mutations in these genes, either inherited or spontaneous, are a major medical and social burden, affecting 1 in 40 infants in Europe, with 360 000 new birth defects arising each year. Some of these affect organs such as the heart, lungs and kidneys; some interfere with positioning or growth of bones of the limbs and face; others affect the spine and brain. Some are so severe that they result in stillbirths. Identifying the genes that cause birth defects is therefore a major scientific challenge. This Award will expand the understanding of embryo development in mammals such as mice and humans, providing important clues about the origins and nature of human birth defects.

Professor Adrian Hayday, King’s College London
Immune function and pathology dissected by high-throughput analysis of mice with targeted gene disruptions - an investigation by the Infection and Immunity Immunophenotyping (3I) consortium
The immune system is fundamental to survival in the face of innumerable microbes and viruses. Hence, understanding immunology will clarify how we interact with the biosphere, and enhance our vaccine development. However, mirroring the complexity of the microbial world, the immune system is composed of myriad cell types that use complex, highly specialised mechanisms to respond to particular challenges, and to orchestrate appropriate defences. Given this complexity, it is inevitable that our understanding of the immune system is incomplete. The knowledge gained from this Award should elucidate basic mechanisms in immunology, and also inform studies of cell and developmental biology. The findings will be useful beyond infectious disease and vaccine development, because faulty immune systems contribute to an immense spectrum of diseases, from obesity and cardiovascular disease, through neurodegeneration and allergy, to cancer.

Grants awarded in 2011

Professor Kevin Brindle
University of Cambridge/CRUK Cambridge Research Institute
Real time clinical imaging of metabolism using hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Dr Thierry Diagana
Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases – Medicines for Malaria Venture
Drug discovery and clinical development portfolio for single dose cure of P.falciparum and curative modality of P.vivax

Professor Ian Goodyer
University of Cambridge
The Cambridge-UCL Mental Health and Neurosciences Network

Professor Keith Matthews
University of Edinburgh
Renewal of core support for the Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution

Professor Michael Parker
University of Oxford
A programme to build capacity in global health research ethics and community engagement across the Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme

Professors James Rothman and Daniel St Johnston
University of Cambridge
Nanoscopy of dynamics in the living cell

Professor Jason Swedlow
University of Dundee
The open microscopy environment – image informatics for biological sciences

Professor Timothy Wells
Medicines for Malaria Venture
New medicines against malaria – demonstrating activity in man

Karonga Programme – achieving disease control through understanding microbial transmission
Since 1996, with financial support primarily from the Wellcome Trust, the programme has studied tuberculosis and HIV using the unique compilation of demographic data and biological material collected over the quarter century of the project’s existence, during a period of immense change in disease burden.

Grants awarded in 2010

Professor George Davey-Smith
University of Bristol
Renewal of core support for ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children)

Professor Raymond Dolan
University College London
Renewal of core support for the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging

Professor Gordon Dougan
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Controlling infectious disease with camelid derived single domain antibody fragments

Dr Aled Edwards
Renewal of core funding for the Structural Genomics Consortium

Professor Christopher Fairburn
University of Oxford
Internet-based training in psychological treatments

Professor Jeremy Farrar
University of Oxford
Wellcome Trust-Vietnam Initiative on zoonotic infections WT-VIZIONS

Tony Gilland
The Institute of Ideas
Strategic development of debating matters competition and biomedical aspects of the Battle of Ideas festival

Dr Chris Kirk
The Biochemical Society
Application for completion of Charles Darwin House to create a hub for UK Bioscience

Professor Kevin Marsh
Renewal of core support for the Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme in Kenya

Professor Kim Nasmyth
University of Oxford
Chromosome and RNA dynamics

Sir Paul Nurse
Rockefeller University/University College London
Networks for global cellular controls in fission yeast

Professor Daniel St Johnston
University of Oxford
Renewal of core support for the Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute

Professor John Todd
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) / Wellcome Trust Diabetes and Inflammation Laboratory (DIL)
The DIL aims to improve our understanding of the aetiology of Type 1 diabetes and related immune-mediated disease using genetics to help identify inherited phenotypes. This knowledge may provide clues to the earliest precursors of disease and to the environmental factors that influence the penetrance of susceptibility alleles and the development of the disorder.

Professor David Tollervey
University of Edinburgh
Renewal of core support for the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology

Professors Trevor Robbins and Ed Bullmore
University of Cambridge
Renewal of core funding for the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI). The objective of this award is to maximise the scientific and clinical value of the BCNI, in order to maintain its status as one of the internationally leading institutes for translating behavioural and cognitive neuroscience, so as to have therapeutic impact on many common and important human brain and mental health disorders.

Nigel Townsend
Y Touring Theatre of Debate: a five year conversation
This project will create, develop and produce five new plays, each exploring a different facet of biomedical research and its implications for human health

Professors Albert Weale and Hugh Whittall
Renewal of core support for the Nuffield Council on Bioethics

Professor Paul Wyatt
University of Dundee
Discovery and development of drug candidates for neglected diseases

Grants awarded 2009

Professor Rory Collins
UK Biobank
Support for enhancements to the existing UK Biobank protocol

Professors Nick Day and Jeremy Farrar
Renewal of core support for the Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programmes in Thailand (including Laos) and Viet Nam

Dr Patrice Dubois
University of Lausanne
Development and technology-transfer of a reduced-dose injectable polio vaccine containing adjuvants

Dr Richard Durbin and the late Professor Leena Peltonen
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
10 000 UK genome sequences – accessing the role of rare genetic variants in health and disease

Professor Dominic Kwiatkowski
University of Oxford
Resource centre for genomic epidemiology of malaria

Dr Laura Martin
Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health
Conjugate vaccine that protects against typhoid fever caused by the Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A ( more details)

Professor Mark McCarthy
University of Oxford
Next-Generation Disease-Association Analysis – low pass sequencing and high density SNP genotyping for Type 2 diabetes

Professor Gero Miesenböck
University of Oxford
This is a joint award with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation to provide support to develop the Oxford Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, which aims to increase understanding of the biological mechanisms by which valuations and error signals are constructed by neural circuits using a range of genetically tractable model organisms.

Professor Charles Streuli
University of Manchester
Renewal of core support for the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research

Professor Ashok Venkitaraman
University of Cambridge
Enzyme regulation by allo-targeting – a strategic initiative for chemical biology and molecular therapeutics

Neurodegenerative Diseases Initiative: three Strategic Awards funded

Professor Peter St George-Hyslop
Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (CIMR), University of Cambridge
Mechanisms of neurotoxicity of amyloid aggregates

Professor Christopher Shaw
King's College London (MRC Centre for Neurodegeneration Research)
The role of RNA-processing proteins in neurodegeneration

Professors Nicholas Wood, John Hardy and Anthony Schapira
University College London (Institute of Neurology)
Understanding Parkinson's disease: lessons from biology

Grants awarded 2008

Professor Frances Ashcroft
Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford
and
Professor Nicholas Rawlins
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London and MRC Harwell
Support for OXION, the Wellcome Trust-funded Ion Channel Initiative, to build upon and maintain the consortium as a centre of excellence in ion channel research, to train talented young researchers in a range of multidisciplinary skills in integrative physiology and to strengthen the links between basic science and the clinic.

Professor David Barry
Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, University of Glasgow
Renewal of core support for the Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology. The Wellcome Trust Centre aims to develop new approaches to the control of parasites and the diseases they cause and also to develop the field of parasitology through strong contribution to international research and training, in particular with disease-endemic countries.

Dr Ewan Birney
European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI)
Support for the strategic development of a 'Trace Archive' (sequencing data repository and management system) to accommodate the sequence information being produced by next-generation sequencing technologies; plus support for the EBI to act as the Data Coordination Centre for the 1000 Genomes Project.

Dr Chas Bountra, Dr Brian Marsden, Dr Udo Oppermann, Dr Tom Heightman, Dr Robert Klose, Dr Stefan Knapp
Structural Genomics Consortium, Oxford
and
Professor Christopher Schofield
Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford
and
Dr Tim Willson
GlaxoSmithKline
and
Dr Chris Austin
NIH Chemical Genomics Center, USA
Support to create an international public-private partnership for the generation of an open-access resource of chemical probes for use in disease association and target validation studies. Specifically the consortium will generate small molecule probes for the regulatory proteins in control of the epigenome.

Professor Anthony Costello
Institute of Child Health, University College London
Support for the development of a network of high quality scientists and population field sites to generate research evidence to improve policy and practice of maternal and child survival in high mortality settings such as India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malawi.

Professor Shah Ebrahim
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Support for the creation of a South Asia Centre for chronic diseases in India which will establish a sustainable infrastructure for building research capacity and conducting innovatory, interdisciplinary research on the prevention and control of chronic diseases. This initiative is a collaborative venture between the Public Health Foundation of India and the constituent colleges of the Wellcome Trust Bloomsbury Centre for Clinical Tropical Medicine.

Dr Alison M Elliott
Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Support to establish the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) as a centre of excellence for research and training in infection and immunity for Makerere University, and to use this collaboration for high-quality capacity building of Ugandan and East African researchers in this field.

Professor Brian M Greenwood
Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Support for research and training for African scientists to undertake high-quality malaria research in African universities.

Professor Robert Heyderman and Professor Peter Winstanley
University of Liverpool
and
Professor Robin Broadhead
University of Malawi
Renewal of core support for the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research

Professor Kevin Marsh
University of Oxford and KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme
The KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research programme aims to produce a cadre of researchers from Kenya and the east African region who are internationally competitive in developing and leading sustainable research programmes throughout the region.

Professor Stephen McMahon
School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, King's College London
and
Professor Anthony Dickenson
Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, UCL
and
Dr Andrew Rice
Imperial College Medical School
Continued funding of the successful Wellcome Trust-funded London Pain Consortium, which seeks to identify the determinants of chronic pain and provide a rational basis for better pain management and relief.

Professor Srinath Reddy
Public Health Foundation of India
Support for training of a multidisciplinary cohort of researchers, to be achieved through an academic partnership between the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and a UK Consortium, comprising university departments of public health and the UK Faculty of Public Health. These researchers will help populate the eight new Indian Institutes of Public Health to be established by PHFI in order to strengthen the public health workforce and develop public health leadership in India.

Professor Janet M Thornton
European Molecular Biology Laboratory Outstation Hinxton, European Bioinformatics Institute, Cambridgeshire
Support for the purchase, maintenance and introduction into the public domain of a suite of previously privately-owned chemoinformatic databases. The data contained within the databases will provide other researchers with information on the properties and the activities of drugs and a large set of drug-like molecules.

Professor Robert J Wilkinson
University of Cape Town
Support for the creation of a Centre for Clinical Infectious Disease based in the University of Cape Town, South Africa, which will promote interactions at the clinical/basic science interface and increase research training opportunities for both clinical and basic scientists.

Grants awarded 2007

Professor Peter J Donnelly
Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford
and
Professor Panos Deloukas
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Continued funding for the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium. A collaboration of 24 leading human geneticists, who will analyse thousands of DNA samples from patients suffering with different diseases to identify common genetic variations for each condition.

Professor Christopher Goodnow
John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University
Support for the Immunity and Infection Genomics Consortium: The Consortium proposes to identify immunologically important genes by isolating and phenotyping mouse mutants with altered susceptibility to infection, immunisation, inflammation or autoimmune disease. The mutants will be an important resource for the international research community.

Professor Adrian V S Hill
Jenner Institute, University of Oxford
Support for infrastructure at the Jenner Institute in order to enhance potential synergies in the co-development of veterinary and human vaccines and to accelerate the development of new vaccines.

Professor Angus Lamond
Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, University of Dundee
Support for the establishment of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression at the University of Dundee. The Centre aims to pioneer a new approach in the field of cell biology by bringing together advanced imaging and proteomics technologies, combined with enhanced data analysis tools, to provide a quantitative understanding of gene regulation and chromosome biology at the single cell level.

Granted Wellcome Trust Centre status.

Professor Richard Maizels
Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, University of Edinburgh
This Centre aims to take a multidisciplinary approach to the understanding of pathogens and their host interactions, and to undertake vaccine and drug development in the context of evolutionary processes.

Professor Kim Nasmyth
Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford
Capital support for contribution towards the building costs of the new Department of Biochemistry, with the aim of establishing an Institute of Chromosome Biology to be housed within the new building. The Institute will encompass research groups investigating the molecular mechanisms of chromosomal replication, recombination, repair and transcription.

Professor Marie-Louise Newell
University of KwaZulu Natal
Core support for the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, based in a rural area of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, which conducts population-based research on HIV and other important health questions affecting people in sub-Saharan Africa.

Professor Peter Openshaw
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Imperial College London
Core support for a Centre for Respiratory Infections based at Imperial College London. The aim of the Centre is to promote interactions at the clinical/basic science interface and equip researchers working on respiratory infections to respond to emerging infections.

Professor Linda Partridge, Dr David H Gems
Department of Biology, University College London,
and
Professor Dominic J Withers
Division of Medicine, University College London
and
Professor Janet M Thornton
European Molecular Biology Laboratory Outstation Hinxton, European Bioinformatics Institute, Cambridgeshire
Support for a collaborative programme of research into the genomic and biochemical mechanisms of ageing and age-related disease, with emphasis on ageing as a risk factor for disease, focussing particularly on neurodegenerative diseases.

Professor Alexander J Trees
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Support for the development of a framework of research training opportunities, to engage veterinary undergraduates in research involving all UK veterinary schools and including the establishment of a Wellcome Trust administered fellowship scheme.

Professor Jonathan Weber
Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London
and
Professor Rodney E Phillips
Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford
Additional support for SPARTAC, a randomised clinical trial of a short course of combination anti-retroviral therapy, commencing as early as possible following primary HIV infection, to determine whether there is a delay in disease progression. SPARTAC was originally funded in 2003 and this additional support meets the increased cost of recruiting patients overseas, mainly in Africa.

Professor Jonathan Weber
Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College
Support for the UK HIV Vaccine Consortium, which consists of an integrated and project-managed collaboration of UK academic groups studying potential HIV vaccine constructs and immunisation strategies.

Professor Semir M Zeki
Faculty of Medical Biosciences, University College London
Neuroesthetics
Support for the establishment of an academic unit of cognitive scientists, social scientists and researchers in the arts to look at how the brain processes information pertaining to emotion, in particular the neural bases of aesthetic appreciation and creativity.

Grants awarded 2006

Professor Raymond J Dolan and Professor Karl J Friston
Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London
Core support for a world-leading laboratory in the field of imaging neuroscience. The ultimate aim of the laboratory is to provide a high level understanding of human brain function that will inform understanding of the underlying mechanisms of common neurological and psychiatric diseases.

Granted Wellcome Trust Centre status.

Professor J Paul Luzio and Professor David A Lomas
Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge
Core support for the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research and for the establishment of two new training programmes, with the major objective of providing a better understanding of protein localisation, function and metabolism in a range of diseases in which genetic studies have identified causative genes.

Professor Austin G Smith and Professor Fiona M Watt
Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research, University of Cambridge
Core support for an international centre of excellence in fundamental stem cell research, with focus on definition of the genetic and biochemical mechanisms that control stem cell fate, providing foundations for applications in disease modelling, drug discovery and regenerative medicine.

Granted Wellcome Trust Centre status.