Image credit: Carmen Denman Hume / Wellcome Sanger Institute
Meet the next generation of genomic scientists who are benefiting from the Sanger Prize. Damilola Gbore won the Prize in 2023, after first applying in 2020. He joined the Parasites and Microbes Programme to work alongside Ewan Harrison’s research group. During his three-month placement, he analysed virus sequencing data, learning the techniques that researchers can use to diagnose and track viruses in humans.
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Why did you choose to apply to the Sanger Prize?
I first heard about the prize in 2020 when a friend of mine from the University in Nigeria sent me the application. As I was a veterinary student who was interested in exploring research opportunities, it matched what I was looking for — to develop research experience.
This is the second time I applied, and finding out I’d won truly felt like a dream. I got the award email while at a summer research training program for veterinary students at Cornell University in the USA. It felt like my goals of pursuing research were starting to come together — and having never been to the UK, I was excited to come to the Sanger Institute.
This is the second time I applied, and finding out I’d won truly felt like a dream.
I knew that after you are selected for the prize, you choose who you work with. By the time I was awarded the Sanger Prize I was particularly interested in Ewan Harrison’s research. I got in touch with Ibrahim Adamu, the 2022 Sanger Prize winner and he told me how fantastic Ewan’s lab was, and how much was going on, which solidified my interest. I also connected with Boluwatife Adewale, another previous Nigerian Sanger Prize awardee. Both Bolu and Ibrahim helped answer many questions I had about coming to the UK and the Sanger Institute for the first time. Their advice helped me make the most of my opportunity and it was a great chance to network before I had even arrived.
What did you do day-to-day for your research project?
During my Sanger Prize internship, the idea was to give me a broad insight into handling different types of sequencing data sets. I learned what kind of questions you can ask, and what answers you can get from large sequencing datasets. I analysed sequences of respiratory samples that had been previously tested for respiratory viruses including, but not limited to, SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19.
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Damilola Gbore analysing respiratory samples with computational biology. Image credit: Carmen Denham Hume / Wellcome Sanger Institute
I focused on two methods that we can use to study viral communities in respiratory samples. I compared the efficiency of different next-generation sequencing methods, such as bait-capture metagenomics and bulk RNA sequencing. The findings could help us understand what we may be detecting, or missing, depending on the technique deployed. Benchmarking the performance of different approaches to studying sequencing data can inform researchers about the techniques available for studying viral genomics, which, in turn, could help improve virus detection in clinical samples. This could help researchers enhance global efforts against the increasing outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging viral diseases worldwide by improving disease diagnosis and surveillance.
Given that they don’t teach you how to code in Veterinary school, how did you learn?
I’m not the typical veterinary student. My interests have changed and adapted over time and now I’m more interested in biomedical research and computational technology than the clinic.
Even before pursuing a career in research, I started learning coding. During the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria, there was a time when I couldn’t go to school. So, I started taking courses on the online-learning platform Coursera. I studied lots of different things, including graphic design and coding, and started to encourage other students I knew to do the same. I see coding as a way to make computers do stuff, anything you want, and I think it’s really cool.
I see coding as a way to make computers do stuff, anything you want, and I think it’s really cool.
Also, I really wanted to pursue computational-based research as a way of combining my interests in biomedical research and computational technology, so coding made sense to me. Computational work you can do from anywhere.
What have you enjoyed the most during your time at Sanger?
One of my favourite moments is when I reconnected in the UK with friends I made at my previous internship and we all went punting on the River Cam. This internship has brought me to the UK for the first time, and I really enjoy the free bus rides through the countryside to and from work! It gives me such a therapeutic feeling. I have the chance to visit other UK Universities as well, including a trip to Oxford. One of the things I’ve learned in research is to network, it's a huge part of what research is about. I have gotten to do a lot of learning on the job while here at the Sanger Institute.
In Ewan’s lab specifically, I think I’ve had quite a unique experience. Ewan engages with you and is interested in more than just work — he’s been a great mentor and supervisor. People here in the group eat lunch all together. In internships I’ve done previously, I hadn’t been in a group where people did things together. It’s really cool and a nice atmosphere to work in.
What would you like to do in the future?
For the past three years, I’ve been mostly doing wet-lab research, like DNA extractions and molecular biology techniques. I wanted to develop my skills in computational analysis and I’ve done that thanks to my time at the Sanger Institute. As I look for my next position, I will pursue opportunities to further my skills in molecular biology and bioinformatics. I would like to apply my computational skills to the field of virology to study viral infections that are of significant global health importance. I want to contribute to the development of effective control and preventive measures against viral diseases.
