Highlights 2016/17 What We Do Our Work Our Approach Other Information
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Highlights 2016/17 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Highlights 2016/17 Contents Through our ability 02 What we do What we do 03 Director’s introduction to conduct research at 04 Institute in numbers Our work scale, we are able to 08 Our work engage in bold and 10 Cancer, Ageing and Somatic Mutation long-term exploratory approach Our 16 Cellular Genetics projects that are 20 Human Genetics designed to influence information Other and empower medical 24 Infection Genomics science globally 28 Malaria 30 Our approach 32 Scale 34 Innovation 36 Culture 38 Influence 40 Connections 42 Other information 42 Image credits Wherever you see this icon, click to find more information 43 Institute information on the Sanger Institute website. sanger.ac.uk 1 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Highlights 2016/17 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Highlights 2016/17 Director’s introduction What we do oday at the Sanger and their environment, and our research dialogue: between Institute genomic evolving research facilitated by scientists and institutes, industry scientists face unparalleled global dialogue between scientists, and academe, investigators and opportunities – and data sources and institutions. healthcare, and researchers and What Tchallenges – offered by the governments. This Institute was confluence of powerful new The dialogue between genomes established to facilitate such Our work technologies, paradigm shifts in and their environment is collaborative working – first as understanding, daring scientific continually shaping human and part of the Human Genome ambition and global cooperation. pathogen genomes, creating Project and now by laying the a flux that impacts every aspect foundations for sustainable global More than two decades ago the of disease and health. From the networks for genomic research. first reference human genome was rise of drug resistance in malaria approach Our we do born from the scientific community to finding the drivers of cancer, coalescing to pool knowledge, and from the sources of rare technologies and funding at a developmental disorders to scale never before seen. The result healthy bacterial mixes in the was truly historic – the publication gut microbiome, genomic of humankind’s ‘book of life’. research plays a pivotal role in But, just as in nature, this sequence understanding health and disease. information Other is not static: continual challenge The research outlined within has developed and refined it many the following pages is providing times. The same is true of the new knowledge and insight to Sanger Institute. inform approaches to diagnosis, treatment, disease prevention Running through this Institute and health promotion. Highlights are two entwined narratives – the ever-changing The only way to explore such nature of genomes resulting a vast world of connections is Mike Stratton, Director from interplay between organisms through inclusive and equitable Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute 2 3 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Highlights 2016/17 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Highlights 2016/17 2016 at a glance Publications Organoids Human Cell Atlas Gut microbiome 2016 Timeline Initiative launched spin-out company See page 17 launched – Cell The Lancet Microbiotica See page 35 6 1 17 What we do Number of Organoid lines so far compute cores Five new breast 2016-2021 Sanger Nature 684 Science cancer genes found Institute research Page views of See page 12 Usable storage in Institute quinquennium Sanger Institute-run 14 12 22,000 the Data centre Publications started websites See page 8 in 2016 Our work Genetic marker New England Nature Journal of malaria Genetic damage Genetics Biogen joined 42PB of Medicine pioneering Open Gut’s bacterial dark GA4GH presents treatment failure of regular cigarette 44m vision for genomic found in Cambodia smoking quantified 20 Targets Centre matter catalogued 3 See page 40 See page 27 and clinical data See page 28 See page 11 sharing See page 39 Electricity used Number of compute jobs by the Data centre Data Cellular Generation and Phenotyping approach Our 1.4 MW 3m centre Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec information Other We read the Sequencing centre , , Sequencing equivalent of one 2 847 27 100 outputs approx. unique cell lines were cultured in 2016. 2,418 of them …vials of cells. gold-standard human were frozen for future use generating… 3,750bn centre genome every DNA bases a day Roots of childhood Cancer cell lines congenital heart 35mins All Party Superbug tracked Infection control good predictor disease revealed Parliamentary across Europe practices changed by of drug response See page 23 Sequencing Aboriginal Group on See page 27 genomic discovery Australian Y See page 14 Personalised See page 24 The Human centre produces chromosomes show Medicine launched genome is approx. the equivalent of 21 ,988 1 ,237 50,000 years of See page 38 cell culture plates used in 2016. cell lines given to researchers around the world, independence plus small numbers of lines to five other institutes. See page 23 Human Cancer Model Initiative A gold standard read Acute Myeloid of a genome is launched 3bn 417 Leukaemia is at See page 33 bases long gold-standard human Cell lines shared with partner organisations European Bank least 11 different genomes a day of induced Sanger spin-out – diseases Kymab – secures $100m pluripotent See page 13 Stem Cells opened See page 35 30x See page 33 418 429 208 182 to ECACC to EBiSC Landmark to King’s College to University (European Collection (European Bank for BLUEPRINT papers UK Prime Minister London of Dundee of Authenticated induced pluripotent published on blood opens new Cell Cultures) Stem Cells) cell development Sequencing Facility and function and Biodata See page 22 Innovation Centre See page 32 All facts and figures gathered in December 2016 ECACC and EBiSC act as distribution hubs for our induced pluripotent stem cell lines and send them to researchers around the world. 4 5 6 7 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Highlights 2016/17 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Highlights 2016/17 Our work 10 Cancer, Ageing and Somatic What we do Mutation Programme With secured Provides leadership in data aggregation and informatics innovation, develops funding from high-throughput cellular models of cancer for genome-wide functional screens and drug testing, and explores somatic mutation’s role Wellcome for the Our work in clonal evolution, ageing and development. 16 Cellular Genetics next five years Programme Explores human gene function by studying we aim to focus the impact of genome variation on cell approach Our biology. Large-scale systematic screens are used to discover the impact of naturally- our work in five occurring and engineered genome mutations in human iPS cells, their differentiated derivatives, and other cell types. key research 20 Human Genetics Programme programmes information Other Applies genomics to population-scale studies to identify the causal variants and pathways involved in human disease and their effects on cell biology. It also models developmental disorders to explore which physical aspects might be reversible. 24 Infection Genomics Programme Investigates the common underpinning mechanisms of evolution, infection and resistance to therapy in viruses, bacteria and parasites. It also explores the genetics of host response to infection and the role of the microbiota in health and disease. 28 Malaria Programme 212m Integrates genomic, genetic and proteomic cases worldwide of approaches to develop and enhance malaria in 2015 high-throughput tools and technologies to study specific biological problems relevant for malaria control and to understand the fundamental science of the human host, the mosquito vector and the Plasmodium pathogen. 8 9 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Highlights 2016/17 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Highlights 2016/17 Cancer, Ageing and Somatic Mutation Programme Cancer, Ageing and Somatic Mutation Programme Mutational signatures: new insights into Cracking cancer’s DNA damage 23 mouth What we do n recent years, Sanger researchers have Mutations produced made great progress in understanding in each cell by conundrums not only what has gone wrong in cancer smoking a pack cells, but also how. By analysing the of cigarettes a day Ialtered genetic landscapes of many for a year The Cancer, Ageing and thousands of cancers, they have identified Somatic Mutation Programme dozens of distinctive patterns of DNA 39 damage. Each of these ‘mutational pharynx has sequenced and analysed signatures’ is the result of a distinct Our work cancer genomes at scale DNA-damaging process. This work to reveal complexity and is shedding light on the molecular surprising commonality. mechanisms that compromise the integrity of the genome – knowledge Sanger researchers have begun that could underpin new ways to treat 97 to tease apart the multiple or prevent cancer. larynx mechanisms disrupting the approach Our In 2010, Sanger researchers identified genome and driving cancer distinctive genetic changes in the genome – offering insights that could of a smoker’s lung cancer, revealing how inform new diagnostics the constituent chemicals in tobacco smoke damage DNA in different ways. 150 lungs and treatments. Extending this approach to other forms of cancer, Sanger scientists systematically analysed data from multiple cancer In this section or more than a decade, Sanger “ All cancers are due to genomes, identifying a wide range of information Other researchers have been at the mutational signatures linked to different