Sanger Life
3 March 2026Histologists are the people who make the invisible visible. While their work often happens quietly behind the scenes, it is essential to everything from basic biology to scientific breakthroughs. These are the unsung heroes of the lab – and Yvette Hooks, Senior Technical Specialist at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, is no exception.
29 October 20258.2 min readArtificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how we analyse biological data – from predicting protein structures to uncovering insights from vast genomic datasets. Ronnie Crawford, Science Solutions Lead at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, bridges AI and genomics. His work covers predicting protein stability from sequence data and building communities around AI‑driven research. From a reluctant programmer to an AI innovator, Ronnie’s path shows how career flexibility can lead to new opportunities in computational biology.
25 September 20255.6 min readWhat do heat, noise and motion have in common? These forms of energy all make brilliant micro:bit coding challenges for young learners. Recently, a team from the Wellcome Sanger Institute invited school-aged children for a morning of fun coding at the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge.
18 September 20259.2 min readGenomics research generates vast datasets, particularly from single-cell and spatial technologies, with artificial intelligence (AI) offering new ways to analyse them. Data experts provide crucial support to clean, analyse and interpret biological information to generate useful insights. But what does a bioinformatician do? And do biologists still need to learn some basic coding? We caught up with Keerthi Priya Chakala, a bioinformatician at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, to find out more.
27 August 20257.8 min readThe basement. The setting for every horror movie. While we all shout at the main character to not go down there to inspect the strange noise, sometimes it is all too enticing. At the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the basement noise is a combination of spinning sounds, clicking and humming – and Craig David playing on the radio. This is where Colin Barker’s workshop is and the hub of some very exciting engineering projects.
24 June 20254.8 min readThis Pride Month we caught up with Linda Grootegoed, a member of the Campus LGBTQ+ Network Operations Group, to talk about why such initiatives are important and how we can all advocate for a more inclusive environment
2 April 20257.9 min readMaking the jump from being a Postdoctoral Fellow or Staff Scientist to leading your own research team can be both exciting and daunting. The opportunities to explore new fields of research are vast, as are the responsibilities of leadership. Find out how Career Development Fellows made the leap – from the Fellows themselves.
