WELLCOME TRUST ANNUAL REVIEW 1 October 2005–30 September 2006 ANNUAL REVIEW 2006 The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK and the second largest medical research charity in the world. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending around £500 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 THE WELLCOME TRUST The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK and the second largest medical research charity in the world. 123 CONTENTS BOARD OF GOVERNORS 2 Director’s statement William Castell 4 Advancing knowledge Chairman 16 Using knowledge Martin Bobrow Deputy Chairman 24 Engaging society Adrian Bird 30 Developing people Leszek Borysiewicz 36 Facilitating research Patricia Hodgson 40 Developing our organisation Richard Hynes 41 Wellcome Trust 2005/06 Ronald Plasterk 42 Financial summary 2005/06 Alastair Ross Goobey 44 Funding developments 2005/06 Peter Smith 46 Streams funding 2005/06 Jean Thomas 48 Technology Transfer Edward Walker-Arnott 49 Wellcome Trust Genome Campus As at January 2007 50 Public Engagement 51 Library and information resources 52 Advisory committees Images 1 Surface of the gut. 3 Zebrafish. 5 Cells in a developing This Annual Review covers the 2 Young children in 4 A scene from Y fruit fly. Wellcome Trust’s financial year, from Kenya. Touring’s Every Breath. 6 Data management at the Sanger Institute. 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2006. CONTENTS 1 45 6 EXECUTIVE BOARD MAKING A DIFFERENCE Developing people: To foster a Mark Walport The Wellcome Trust’s mission is research community and individual Director to foster and promote research with researchers who can contribute to the advancement and use of knowledge Ted Bianco the aim of improving human and Director of Technology Transfer animal health. During 2005–2010, Facilitating research: To promote the our aims are: best conditions for research and the John Cooper use of knowledge Director of Resources Advancing knowledge: To support research to increase understanding Developing our organisation: To use David Lynn of health and disease, and its our resources efficiently and effectively. Head of Strategic Planning and Policy societal context Clare Matterson Using knowledge: To support the Director of Medicine, Society and development and use of knowledge History to create health benefit David Phillipps Engaging society: To engage with Director of Finance society to foster an informed climate Sohaila Rastan within which biomedical research Director of Science Funding can flourish John Stewart Head of Legal and Company Secretary Danny Truell Chief Investment Officer Other senior management Allan Bradley Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Susannah Randall Head of Communications As at January 2007 Strategic Plan updates, summarising progress in achieving specific objectives during 2005/06, can be found at www.wellcome.ac.uk/strategicplan. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT 2 WORKING WITH RESEARCHERS We are working to achieve ever closer relationships with the best researchers to fund work that will have important impacts in improving human and animal health. 1 23 This Annual Review illustrates some of Parkinson’s disease. Research we • Professors Austin Smith and Fiona the many ways in which the work we have funded has led to both national Watt were awarded £7 million to support or carry out ourselves is and international changes in health establish an international centre of making a difference. policy. The World Health Organization excellence in fundamental stem cell This year’s stories of the discovery and now recommends artemisinin research. The Wellcome Trust Centre application of new knowledge illustrate combination therapies for treatment for Stem Cell Research at the how outstanding researchers are of malaria and the Kenyan Ministry University of Cambridge will explore the gaining insight into biological processes of Health is continuing its Hib genetic and biochemical mechanisms at all scales, from the atomic structure immunisation programmes. that control how stem cells develop into particular types of cells. of medically important proteins to the Partnerships global impact and treatment of malaria. We can only achieve this kind of • Professors Ray Dolan and Karl Our understanding of the human impact through working closely with Friston, at the Wellcome Trust Centre genome continues to grow, with yet the research community. Through for Neuroimaging, University College another surprising discovery from the supporting the best people with the London, received an award of Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute – that best ideas and providing flexible £6.7m. This will enhance their genetic variation between individuals funding, we hope to support the research programme into the neural is far higher than previously thought. generation of new knowledge to basis of human cognition, work Genetics has benefited enormously underpin future discoveries and that is extending our understanding from high-throughput sequencing their subsequent application. of common neurological and and other technologies, which have psychiatric diseases, such as A key issue for all funding agencies is schizophrenia and dementia. transformed the way research is to balance bottom-up and top-down carried out. Structural biology is less approaches to the support of research. • Professor Paul Luzio received a easy to scale up, but the Structural Who drives the process of discovery? £4m award for the Cambridge Institute Genomics Consortium has made Who asks the research questions? for Medical Research. The Institute excellent progress in its production Is it the researchers or the funding explores the underlying molecular and of structures of medically important agencies? We take a flexible approach, cellular mechanisms behind disease proteins, and many valuable discoveries and have an open door for the best and it has led key research into how are being made about protein function researchers to bring us their best viruses evade our immune system, on the basis of structural information. ideas. However, we also work with genetic susceptibility to diabetes, and Such studies complement research the research community to identify progress towards novel treatments for into the threats to health we face in areas where there is unmet research Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. this country and globally. The global need and to provide catalysis to ensure Our strategy will continue to create a impact of malaria, for example, is now that vital research is not overlooked. framework that can support, but not much clearer. Wellcome Trust-funded Last year we introduced Strategic constrain, those that look to us for researchers are world leaders in the Awards to ensure we could support funding. Our Strategy Committees fight against this insidious disease. the best ideas wherever they are found. are key to helping us identify our Application of new knowledge has The scope of these awards is really future research priorities and this year seen trials of new dipstick diagnostic only limited by the imagination of the we published an ‘à la carte’ menu of tests for trachoma, trials of new research community. This year we areas identified as important for vaccines and diagnostics for made our first three awards, providing future research activity. tuberculosis, and trials for new outstanding research groups with To ensure we can support the best treatments for the symptoms of significant and flexible support: people, our portfolio of careers DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT 3 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR schemes has been reviewed and as anticancer agents. Creative a number of new schemes were approaches to the discovery of new launched this year. The new Sir Henry medicines like this are vital to help Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship society address the growing burden Awards, worth £250 000 over of disease. four years, will allow researchers Improving healthcare for patients was unprecedented freedom early in their the aim of a further consortium formed careers to pursue their own research. this year. This consortium, led by the Our new Flexible Travel Awards will Wellcome Trust, provided £84m to also support collaboration-building and boost experimental medicine in the the transfer of ideas and skills through UK and the Republic of Ireland. This support for sabbaticals and travelling major investment aims to develop and fellowships. Other new initiatives were strengthen Clinical Research Facilities, also launched this year, notably the which bring together laboratory and £91m Seeding Drug Discovery clinical patient-based research in initiative, aiming to provide funding order to answer important questions • Whole-genome map uncovers for the early stages of drug discovery, about health and disease. Under the unexpectedly high levels of which often struggle to attract funding umbrella of the UK Clinical Research copy number variation. for commercial development. We hope Collaboration, this initiative brought this initiative will create a stronger together the major health research • Functional imaging reveals synergy between academia and charities, the government funding brain centres involved in industry and capitalise on the powerful bodies and health departments. decision-making. resources that are spread across the academic, biotechnology and A research funder’s work does not • Nanog identified as key pharmaceutical sectors. end