Molecular Biology, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute: University of Cambridge

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute was established in 1992. They are at the forefront of experimental and computational genome research, and have made major contributions to the elucidation of the sequence of humans, mice, fish, worms, yeast and various human and animal pathogens.

This is complemented by computational interpretation and experimental analysis of gene function in a variety of model organisms including yeast, C. elegans, zebrafish and mice. In humans, genetic variation in cancer, type II diabetes and other diseases is being investigated alongside natural variation in human populations, in addition to genetic analyses in enteric bacteria and malaria parasite species that have a major disease burden in the developing world.

The next few years will be an exciting period at the Sanger Institute, as a genomic focus is applied to a variety of biological systems in order to pursue their understanding of gene function, particularly in human health and disease. The Sanger Institute shares the site at Hinxton with the European Bioinformatics Institute. The total site population is 1,100.

Key research areas

• Computational investigations to analyse genome and protein sequences and develop new predictive algorithms
• Experimental investigations to determine gene/genome function, regulation, variation and evolution.
• Investigations into various human diseases, including cancer, type II diabetes and malaria
• Human and model organism genetics and the phenotypic effects of natural and experimentally induced genetic variation
• Development and application of high-throughput technologies, including state-of-the-art DNA sequencing, genotyping, microarrays and various genomic screens

Further information:

• www.sanger.ac.uk
• or contact the Graduate Programme Administrator