Wellcome Trust Director announces his retirement

12 April 2002

Dr Michael Dexter today announced he will step down as Director of the Wellcome Trust at the end of March, next year.

Dr Dexter, who accepted the five year appointment in 1998, has led the Trust through a period of change and modernisation and has been instrumental in developing an organisation that is well placed to meet the huge challenges facing biomedical research in the 21st Century.

Sir Dominic Cadbury, Chairman of the Wellcome Trust said: "Mike Dexter has made an enormous difference to the Wellcome Trust at a time of great growth and change. He has brought vision, management and leadership skills which have led the Trust into the new century, as a modern, effective philanthropic foundation which makes a unique contribution to human and animal health.

"Through his skill and vision the Trust has moved biomedical research higher on the agenda of both the public and government. It would be hard to leave a better legacy than that."

Dr Dexter said it had been a privilege to help steer one of the most influential organisations in British science.

"I have been fortunate to be at the Trust at a time of great change and scientific discovery," Dr Dexter said. "The Trust’s role in supporting the sequencing of the human genome and in funding university infrastructure has brought its work to the attention of the wider community. I am confident it will maintain this position in the future," he added.

"Although it will be a tremendous wrench to leave the Trust as I have enjoyed my time here thoroughly, it is the right time to begin the search for a successor. That person will be stepping into one of the most exciting jobs in science and will be working with some of the most talented people around."

The Director of the Wellcome Trust is appointed on a five-year tenure with an option for a further two years. Dr Dexter, who will be 57 next month, has chosen not to take this option. Accepting his decision with regret, the Governors of the Trust have commenced a search for the next Director.

During his time at the Trust, Dr Dexter oversaw one of the biggest advances in biomedical research when it was announced in February last year that the human genome had been sequenced - giving scientists a detailed map of the body’s make-up for the first time.

He will also be remembered for breathing new life into University research departments by injecting more than £525m through the Joint Infrastructure Fund and the Science Research Investment Fund.

Dr Dexter, who is a Fellow of the Royal Society, was formerly Director of the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester. He is an expert in the fields of leukaemia and stem cell research and has more than 360 papers published in scientific journals.

Notes to editors:

• An image of Dr Dexter is available on request

• The Wellcome Trust is an independent, research-funding charity, established under the will of Sir Henry Wellcome in 1936. The Trust's mission is to foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health.

• The Trust will spend about three billion pounds in the next five years supporting biomedical research and related activities in the UK and overseas; 85 per cent of this will be spent in the UK.

• The Trust funds 'blue skies' research as well as more applied clinical research. It also actively supports the translation of research findings for medical benefit. Reflecting the profound impact today's research will have on society, the Trust also seeks to raise awareness of the medical, ethical and social implications of research.

• The Trust supports more than 4000 researchers worldwide and is not only able to develop the skills and experience of gifted individuals, but also form important alliances with government and industry in order to maximise the value of the research it funds. For example:

o The Trust has been responsible for a number of world-class developments, including the largest sequencing and biological computing site in Europe - the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus. This campus houses the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute which is contributing a third of the sequence data to the Human Genome Project.

o The Trust has worked with the UK government to modernise research infrastructure in UK universities after years of neglect, contributing £525 million to the Joint Infrastructure Fund and Science Research Investment Fund initiatives.

o Together with 14 pharmaceutical and technology companies, it established a public-private initiative - the SNP consortium - with the aim of identifying genetic variations in DNA that make individuals relatively sensitive or resistant to disease.

o In collaboration with the NHS and universities, the Trust is stimulating clinical research in the UK, by funding five new Clinical Research Facilities. In this initiative around £18 million has been awarded in order to translate research knowledge into patient care.

o Overseas, the Trust conducts pioneering research in HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major killer diseases. For example, in 1997 it established the Africa Centre in KwaZulu Natal.

o The Wellcome Wing is an innovative new 'theatre of science' which has been built at the Science Museum in London. This, alongside six other regional science centres in the UK, illustrates the Trust's commitment to engaging the public in medical science.

Media contact:
Shaun Griffin
Wellcome Trust Media Office
Tel: +44 (0)20 7611 8612
E-mail: s.griffin@wellcome.ac.uk