Sanger Life

  • 8 September 2026

    Navigating unexpected turns, discovering her passion and striving for work with real-world impact – reflections from Vanessa Burns, PhD student at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

  • 11 August 202610.3 min read

    From aspiring dentist to sequencing specialist, Ashleigh Williams, Advanced Research Assistant at the Wellcome Sanger Institute shares how following her curiosity led to a career full of cutting-edge technologies and unexpected turns.

  • 18 September 20259.2 min read

    Genomics 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 read

    The 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 read

    This 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 read

    Making 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.

  • 27 January 20258.4 min read

    Global science challenges demand global solutions. Genomic data diversity and international collaboration are critical to this.

  • 25 June 20247 min read

    The Wellcome Sanger Institute has extended early career faculty positions from six to eight years, to fulfil the science at scale happening at the Institute.