WELLCOME TRUST ANNUAL REVIEW 1 October 2007–30 September 2008 September 2007–30 October 1 REVIEW ANNUAL TRUST WELLCOME ANNUAL REVIEW 2008 The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing. www.wellcome.ac.uk www.wellcome.ac.uk THE wellcome trust The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, and supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing. 1 2 3 4 CONTENTS BOARD OF GOVERNORS 2 Director’s statement William Castell This Annual Review covers the Chairman Wellcome Trust’s financial year, from Achieving our objectives 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008. Adrian Bird 4 Advancing knowledge Deputy Chairman 16 Using knowledge Kay Davies 24 Engaging society Christopher Fairburn 30 Developing people Richard Hynes 36 Facilitating research Roderick Kent 40 Developing our organisation Eliza Manningham-Buller Peter Rigby The year in review Peter Smith 41 Corporate activities Edward Walker-Arnott 42 Financial summary 2007/08 As at January 2009 44 Funding developments 2007/08 46 Streams funding 2007/08 48 Technology Transfer 49 Wellcome Trust Genome Campus 50 Public Engagement 51 Wellcome Collection 52 Advisory committees Cover image Salbutamol crystals. Images 1 Practical science at the launch of Project Enthuse. 4 Equipment from the lab of Dr Thomas Down. 2 Electron micrograph of a mitochondrion. 5 Community engagement in Malawi. 3 Principal Research Fellow Professor Anke Ehlers. 6 Lung cancer cells. CONTENTS | 1 4 5 6 EXECUTIVE BOARD MAKING A DIFFERENCE Mark Walport The Wellcome Trust’s mission is to Director of the Wellcome Trust foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal Ted Bianco health. During 2005–2010, our aims are: Director of Technology Transfer Advancing knowledge: To support John Cooper research to increase understanding of Director of Resources health and disease, and its societal David Lynn context Head of Strategic Planning and Policy Using knowledge: To support the Clare Matterson development and use of knowledge to Director of Medicine, create health benefit Society and History Engaging society: To engage with David Phillipps society to foster an informed climate Director of Finance within which biomedical research can flourish Alan Schafer Head of Molecular and Developing people: To foster a Physiological Sciences research community and individual researchers who can contribute to the John Stewart advancement and use of knowledge Head of Legal and Company Secretary Facilitating research: To promote the Danny Truell best conditions for research and the use Chief Investment Officer of knowledge As at January 2009 Developing our organisation: To use our resources efficiently and effectively. Strategic Plan updates, summarising progress in achieving specific objectives during 2007/08, can be found at www.wellcome.ac.uk/strategicplan. 2 | DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT The POwer OF parTnership Much can be achieved by working together in effective collaborations. 1 2 3 Collaboration has always been central postdoctoral research in a range of capacity to undertake research. The to research, with much to be gained from specialities. We hope that the scheme will African Institutions Initiative, for example, pooling expertise, experience and create a cadre of clinicians with the is funding the establishment of consortia materials. Effective working partnerships expertise to design and conduct studies of universities and research institutions; are a key foundation for the Wellcome on novel human therapies. the Initiative will include institutions both Trust’s work and this year we can pride in Africa and in developed countries but, Industrial partners have also joined us in ourselves on a diverse range of initiatives crucially, will be African-led. It will support the new Project Enthuse, which offers with a wide variety of partners. both well-established institutions and bursaries to help to train the UK’s science promising ones, and aims to develop One of the most exciting developments teachers in the latest scientific discoveries. research leaders who can act as role of the year was the announcement in We are delighted to fund this much- models to enthuse young scientists. December 2007 of a partnership between needed initiative, run by the National the Trust, the Medical Research Council, Science Learning Centre, alongside the Meanwhile, several of our Strategic Cancer Research UK and University UK Government and business partners Awards were given to projects providing College London to establish a world- including AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, training fellowship opportunities for the leading medical research institute in BP, General Electric, GlaxoSmithKline brightest young African scientists. We are London. The UK Centre for Medical and Rolls-Royce. working with African universities and Research and Innovation will provide research institutions to build sustainable Many of our projects are undertaken with superb facilities for scientists working in research programmes initiated and led by partners from outside of the UK and we partnership with UK universities, industry Africans, and provide the infrastructure continue to support scientific capacity and other scientists from around the world. essential for a thriving research building around the world. One highlight environment. It is vital that discoveries about the causes from this year is the Wellcome Trust–DBT of disease are effectively translated into India Alliance, launched together with In Asia, we are proud to have helped to new medicines; this will require increased India’s Department of Biotechnology. The establish the first ever centre for the numbers of clinical scientists who Alliance will run fellowships, providing diagnosis and treatment of infectious understand the complex interplay support and training for Indian research diseases in Laos, together with the between drugs and human physiology in scientists – from newly qualified postdocs University of Oxford and Mahosot health and disease. Working together through to senior researchers – enabling Hospital, Vientiane. This centre will not with academic and industrial partners, them to pursue excellent career paths and only improve diagnosis and treatment but including GlaxoSmithKline and Wyeth, continue working in their home country. also raise the capacity for medical we have launched Interdisciplinary research and training in the country. In Africa, our Major Overseas Programmes Training Programmes for Clinicians in in Kenya, Malawi and South Africa continue But while efforts against infectious disease Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, to go from strength to strength, and we continue, chronic disease is increasingly which provide support for clinicians from have made a number of other major recognised as a problem for the whole across the UK to pursue MSc, PhD and investments to enhance the continent’s world. The UK Biobank project will follow Images 1 Breast cancer cells. 3 Researcher at the Trust’s Major Overseas Programme in Malawi. 2 Staff and pupils at Simon Langton Grammar School, Canterbury. 4 MRI scan of the head, showing the brain. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT | 3 HighlighTS OF The Year the health of a cohort of 500 000 people, exhibition that launched in Bristol and is aged between 40 and 69 at entry to the moving to Newcastle, Glasgow and study. In 2008, this project recruited its Liverpool. The partnership between 100 000th participant, and is on track to Ecsite-uk, the UK Network of Science complete recruitment by the end of 2010. Centres and Museums, the At-Bristol Cancer is one of the most important of the science centre and the Sanger Institute chronic diseases; to help to combat this, will enable the public to engage with the the Trust and the Wellcome Trust Sanger science and scientists involved in Institute committed support to the genomics research, and challenge their International Cancer Genome Consortium, perceptions of the subject. a global collaboration of researchers that Such public engagement initiatives seek will fully sequence thousands of cancer 4 5 64 to form a common understanding and genomes to identify the key mutations bring together people from different involved in up to 50 types of cancer. Acting Self-renewal is found to be the ‘default backgrounds. Another of our successful • in the spirit of open collaboration, the setting’ for embryonic stem cells. projects this year was Science in Film, Consortium will facilitate and encourage which brought eight film makers and Genome-wide association studies the rapid and free exchange of • eight scientists together to plan, shoot shed light on conditions such as information to ensure that the global and edit short films inspired by science. Crohn’s disease and schizophrenia. research community avoids any The resulting films can be seen on our duplication of effort while building this Brain imaging reveals distinctive website at www.wellcome.ac.uk/ • body of knowledge. brain activity in people with mental broadcast. disorders. The Sanger Institute is playing a leading Meanwhile, Wellcome Collection role in another international collaboration, Dementia is found to be much more continues to go from strength to strength, •