Sanger Institute milestones and achievements
Selected milestones and major achievements of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
1992
- Sanger Centre initiated by John Sulston in the grounds of Hinxton Hall
1993
- Sanger Centre officially opened by Fred Sanger
1996
- Sanger Centre moves into purpose-built accommodation
1997
- Yeast genome completed: the Sanger Centre makes the largest single contribution
1998
- Wellcome Trust commits to fund one-third of the human genome – up from one-sixth
- Work on the genome sequence of the nematode worm (C. elegans) is completed
- Publication of the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis – the bacterium that causes TB
1999
- Publication of the first finished sequence of a human chromosome, chromosome 22
2000
- John Sulston retires as Director; Allan Bradley takes over
- Publication of Campylobacter jejuni (food poisoning) genome sequence
- Publication of Neisseria meningitidis (blood poisoning; meningitis) genome sequence
- Ensembl genome browser launched
2001
- John Sulston is knighted for services to genome research
- Publication of the draft human genome sequence in 'Nature'
- Publication of the Yersinia pestis (plague) genome sequence
- Publication of the Salmonella typhi (typhoid) genome sequence
- Publication of the Mycobacterium leprae (leprosy) genome sequence
- Publication of the Schizozaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast) genome sequence
- New £300 million, five-year research programme announced, funded by the Wellcome Trust. The Sanger Centre becomes the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
2002
- John Sulston awarded the Nobel Prize for work on C. elegans (with Sydney Brenner and Bob Horvitz)
- Publication of draft mouse genome sequence in 'Nature'
- Publication of malaria parasite sequence in 'Nature'
- Cancer Genome Project finds gene (BRAF) associated with 66 per cent of malignant melanomas
2003
- Completion of the human genome sequence: the Sanger Institute makes the single largest contribution
- Publication of analyses of chromosome 6 sequence
- Sanger Institute completes 2 billion bases of finished DNA sequence
2004
- Publication of analyses of chromosome 9, 10 and 13 sequences
- Publication of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus) sequence in 'Nature'
- 700 000 page impressions per week
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has produced more than 800 scientific papers in its short history; more than 100 of these have been in the prestigious 'Science' or 'Nature' journals.
