For the next three weeks 14 researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute will be talking with school students from a local Cambridgeshire school in Genome Futures, an I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! event.
Genome Futures is part of the Wellcome Trust’s 75th anniversary celebrations, where Wellcome Trust-funded centres, such as the Sanger Institute, are running events to engage their local communities.
The Sanger Institute is a research centre that specialises in studying diseases that have an impact on global health by investigating genomes.
During the event students from Sawston Village College will ASK scientists questions, CHAT with them during a live chat, and VOTE for the scientist who has best talked about their work. But unlike previous I’m a Scientist events there are no evictions. All the scientists will keep answering questions from the students until the end of the event on Friday 16th December.
The event will give local students the opportunity to explore genome research and how it may affect them in the future. The students and Sanger Institute scientists use this website to talk about genomic research, exchanging ideas and opinions on the impact genomics may have on science and society. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn.
Mike Stratton, Director of the Sanger Institute, says “I am delighted that my colleagues and I are involved in such a progressive project that makes science more accessible to the public. This is an innovative opportunity to spark excitement in teenagers who may have never considered a scientific career.”
There are 3 zones running at the same time – Sanger, Franklin and Sulston, named after scientists who have had a big impact on genome research. The Sanger Institute scientists taking part in each zone are:
Scientist |
Department |
Research |
| Matt Berriman | Pathogens | I try to understand parasites by looking at and comparing their DNA sequences. |
| Julian Rayner | Malaria | I try to understand how malaria parasites recognise and invade human red blood cells, in order to develop new ways to block invasion and treat malaria, which kills more than a million children every year. |
| Elisabeth Busch | Vertebrate Development | I try to find out which gene does what in development and disease. |
| Ele Zeggini | Human Genetics | I work on diseases like obesity, arthritis, diabetes, anorexia and on other human traits like fat distribution, height and weight |
Scientist |
Department |
Research |
| Paul Flicek | Vertebrate Genomics | I manage a big team of people that are trying to understand how the genomes of vertebrate species work and create tools that other scientists can use to do their work. |
| Julian Parkhill | Pathogen Genomics | I study the genomes of bacterial pathogens |
| Cordelia Langford | DNA Pipelines | I’m a senior scientific operations manager, and I lead teams of people who use machines to sequence DNA to help analyse genomes. |
| Carl Anderson | Human Genetics | I use computers to try and identify regions of the genome that increase risk of autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. |
| Alex Bateman | Computational Biology | I am a collector of families of related proteins |
Scientist |
Department |
Research |
| Vijay Yadav | Mouse and Zebrafish Genetics | I use mouse as a model to understand human skeleton, and try finding new ways to cure skeletal diseases viz., osteoporosis and arthritis. |
| Panos Deloukas | Human Genetics | Research how genes predispose us to disease in particular heart disease or affect our response to drugs |
| Liz Murchison | Cancer genetics and genomics | I am trying to save Tasmanian devils from a contagious cancer. |
| Gavin Wright | Cell Surface Signalling Laboratory | I’m interested in understanding how cells talk with each other and then using this to understand and eventually treat diseases. |
| Darren Logan | Mouse and Zebrafish Genetics | I’m a neurobiologist who looks into genes that influence behaviour, primarily through the sense of smell. |
We hope that this project will continue to run and grow in the future, as more Sanger Institute scientists can talk about the impact genomics may have on science and society with students both in the local Cambridge area and beyond.