Sanger, old and new

Through its genome-sequencing work, the Sanger Institute helped usher in a new era in biology. Now it is poised to be equally influential in the postgenomic world.

In rural Cambridgeshire, the Hinxton Estate, with its country hall and 55 acres of parkland, lies peacefully on the banks of the River Cam. Once a hunting and fishing lodge for the landed gentry, the Estate now hosts one of the world’s hotbeds of biomedical research, the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, home to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

From humble beginnings - in April 1993 there were only 15 staff in temporary labs - the Sanger Institute now has a 600-strong workforce in a state-of-the-art building dedicated to the study of genomes from organisms large and small. DNA sequencers, robots and computers hum quietly within the laboratories, producing prodigious amounts of data that are released freely onto the Internet for all to benefit from.

The Sanger’s success in these ventures, backed by more than £240 million funding from the Wellcome Trust, is evident from its vital role in the sequencing of the human genome, a third of which was completed at Hinxton. It has also developed world-renowned expertise in the analysis of genome data and is a leading centre for pathogen genome sequencing.

Yet the sequencing of the human genome is but a first step on the long road to discovering how the human body works and why it becomes ill. With £300 million funding from the Wellcome Trust - the Trust’s largest ever single grant - the Sanger Institute is beginning to focus on this marathon challenge. Through its genome-sequencing work, the Sanger Institute helped usher in a new era in biology. Under the leadership of Allan Bradley and with the support of the Wellcome Trust, the Sanger Institute is poised to be equally influential in the postgenomic world.

Milestones in the Sanger Institute’s history
1992: Sanger Centre initiated by John Sulston and colleagues.
1993: Sanger Centre established in temporary laboratories on the Hinxton estate. Official opening in October by double Nobel Prize winner Fred Sanger, who devised prototype of modern-day sequencing techniques.
1995: Wellcome Trust commits funding for sequencing of one-sixth of human genome.
1996: Sanger moves into purpose-built accommodation on the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus.
1997: Yeast genome completed. Sanger makes largest contribution from a single centre to sequencing project.
1998: Wellcome Trust commits funding for acceleration of human genome sequencing by the Sanger - from one-sixth to one-third of the genome.
1998: C. elegans genome completed. Sanger and Washington University, St Louis, sequence first multicellular organism.
1998: Publication of the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes TB.
1999: Chromosome 22, sequenced by Sanger, is first human chromosome to be published.
June 2000: Draft sequence announced - 90 per cent of human genome in the databases, sequenced by Sanger and colleagues of the international Human Genome Project.
October 2000: Allan Bradley takes over as Director of the Sanger.
January 2001: New Year Honours list awards knighthood to John Sulston for services to genome research.
February 2001: Publication of the human genome sequence in Nature.
October 2001: Allan Bradley announces new five-year research programme for the Sanger, backed by £300 million funding from the Wellcome Trust. Sanger Centre becomes Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute to reflect enhanced status.

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