WELLCOME TRUST ANNUAL REVIEW 1 October 2008–30 September 2009 September 2008–30 October 1 REVIEW ANNUAL TRUST WELLCOME ANNUAL REVIEW 2009 The Wellcome Trust We are a global charity dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. We support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. We are independent of both political and commercial interests. www.wellcome.ac.uk www.wellcome.ac.uk The Wellcome Trust Acknowledgements MAKING A DIFFERENCE EXECUTIVE BOARD BOARD OF GOVERNORS We are grateful to everyone who agreed The Wellcome Trust Annual Review is All images are courtesy of Wellcome Images to be reviewed in this issue, everyone distributed via a mailing list held by the (images.wellcome.ac.uk) except as follows: The Wellcome Trust’s mission is to Mark Walport William Castell p. 3: 1 (K Hodivala-Dilke and M Stone); pp. 6–7: 1 who supplied images or gave us Wellcome Trust. If you would like to be foster and promote research with the Director of the Wellcome Trust Chairman (Dr Linda Stannard, UCT/SPL), 2 (Arran Lewis), permission for their images to be used, added to the list, or if you have a 3 (Anthea Sieveking); p. 8 (David Gregory and Debbie aim of improving human and animal Ted Bianco Adrian Bird and the many members of Wellcome colleague who would like to receive the Marshall); p. 10: 2 (Annie Cavanagh); p. 12 (Robert health. During 2005–2010, Pears/iStockphoto); p. 13 (BSIP VEM/SPL); p. 15 Director of Technology Transfer Deputy Chairman Trust staff who helped to produce this Wellcome Trust Annual Review, please our aims are: (Anna Tanczos); p. 17 (SPL); p. 18: 2 (Caroline Penn); volume. contact: p. 19: 1 (Dr Linda Stannard, UCT/SPL), 2 (Pasquale John Cooper Kay Davies Advancing knowledge: To support Sorrentino/SPL); p. 20: 1 (Ida Ma, Novartis Institute for UKCMRI Chief Operating Officer Editor Publishing Department Tropical Diseases), 2 (Chris de Bode/Panos); p. 21: 1 research to increase understanding Peter Davies and Interim Chief Executive Officer Ian Jones, Isinglass Consultancy Wellcome Trust (Western Ophthalmic Hospital/SPL), 2 (Warwick Design of health and disease, and its societal Consultants); p. 22: 1 (Annie Cavanagh); p. 26: 1 Christopher Fairburn FREEPOST context Simon Jeffreys Project Manager (Natural History Museum); p. 27: 1, 2 (Blink Films); RLYJ-UJHU-EKHJ p. 29 (Andrew Whittuck); p. 32: 1 (Daan van Aalten); Chief Operating Officer Richard Hynes Lucy Moore Using knowledge: To support the Slough SL3 0EN p. 35 (Volker Brinkmann); p. 36 (Membrane Protein Laboratory); p. 41: 1 (Anna Tanczos); p. 45 development and use of knowledge David Lynn Roderick Kent Writers T +44 (0)20 7611 8651 (Annie Cavanagh, Wellcome Images); p. 46: top to create health benefit Head of Strategic Planning and Policy Penny Bailey (Anton Enwright), middle (Annie Cavanagh), bottom Eliza Manningham-Buller F +44 (0)20 7611 8242 Ian Jones (Benedict Campbell); p. 47: top (Yorgos Nikas), Engaging society: To engage with Clare Matterson E [email protected] middle (iStockphoto); p. 50 (Simon Clark). Peter Rigby Mun-Keat Looi society to foster an informed climate Director of Medicine, www.wellcome.ac.uk/publications within which biomedical research Society and History Peter Smith Assistant editor can flourish Tom Freeman ISBN 978 1 84129 084 3 Alan Schafer Edward Walker-Arnott Developing people: To foster a research Director of Science Funding Design The Wellcome Trust is a charity community and individual researchers Anja Fouad registered in England, no. 210183. 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The red blood cells are Sources and was manufactured at a mill with ISO 14001. crenated – spiky – because they are dehydrated. www.wellcome.ac.uk Anne Weston DO-4692/8.5K/01-2010/AF Contents | 1 p. 5 THE YEAR IN REVIEW Director’s statement 2 Advancing knowledge 4 Using knowledge 16 p. 7 p. 22 Engaging society 24 Developing people 30 Facilitating research 36 Developing our organisation 40 Corporate activities 2008/09 41 Financial summary 2008/09 42 p. 20 p. 26 Funding developments 2008/09 44 Streams funding 2008/09 46 Technology Transfer 48 Wellcome Trust Genome Campus 49 Public Engagement 50 p. 29 p. 33 Wellcome Collection 51 Advisory committees 52 p. 34 p. 38 2 | AdvancingDirector’s statement knowledge Five years of progress As we reach the end of our five-year health and disease – including diabetes, for the disease and adopted globally. In Strategic Plan, we can celebrate cancer and malaria – exceeding its target Vietnam, meanwhile, researchers have much success and look forward to of 375 structures. In 2007, we committed completed an important phase II clinical exciting new directions. £16 million to enable the Consortium to trial of a new typhoid fever vaccine, solve an additional 600 structures. This developed with funding from our The end of 2009 sees not only the end of will further our understanding of these Technology Transfer division. The vaccine a year’s activities but also the fruition of a proteins and supply new targets for proved both safe and effective in eliciting five-year Strategic Plan that began in therapeutic intervention. good immune responses in children, 2005. In that Plan, we set out that we encouraging results that can pave the wanted our funding to lead to increased Advances in genomics have also made way for larger phase III clinical trials. understanding of health and disease, possible projects such as the Cancer and its societal context, and to use that Genome Project, an ambitious initiative In Kenya, researchers at the KEMRI– knowledge to develop improved health to map the individual mutations involved Wellcome Trust Research Programme benefits. I feel that we have met those in many different types of cancer. An found that invasive bacterial infections, aims. The last five years have seen our early success was the discovery of BRAF most of which could be prevented with funding contribute to some vital as an important gene involved in malignant existing vaccines, were the leading breakthroughs in biology and medicine melanoma and a high proportion of other cause of death among children at a rural and the pursuit of much inspirational cancers. The Project has also made Kenyan hospital. The findings highlighted science. significant progress in distinguishing the the neglected threat of bacterial disease ‘driver’ mutations that cause cancer from to public health and the need to One of our biggest areas of success the ‘passenger’ mutations that are a overcome the political and financial continues to be in genetics and genomics. result of it. barriers to widespread use of vaccines. As DNA-sequencing technology continues Researchers at the Programme have to improve at a remarkable rate, we have The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute plays also demonstrated that vaccinating seen studies take advantage of the Human a key role in many of these projects and against Haemophilus influenzae serotype Genome Project since the completion of continues to be a leading light in the b (Hib), which can lead to meningitis and the first whole-genome draft in 2000. genomics field. In addition to its work in pneumonia and causes 400 000 deaths Chief among these is the advent of human genetics, it has completed a per year globally, reduces the number of genome-wide association studies, in number of important genome sequences, cases of Hib disease by 88 per cent. The particular the work of the Wellcome Trust notably the parasites Trypanosoma brucei Kenyan Ministry of Health subsequently Case Control Consortium. By examining and Leishmania, which cause two of the committed to funding an ongoing the whole genomes of thousands of major diseases in low-income countries, nationwide immunisation programme.