Sir Mark Walport, FMedSci, was appointed director of the Wellcome Trust in 2003. One of the largest biomedical research charities in the world, founded by the pharmaceutical pioneer Henry Wellcome, the trust distributes £600 million each year to support research on human and animal health. Sir Mark, who was professor of medicine and head of the division of medicine at Imperial College London, received a knighthood in 2009 for his exceptional services in support of medical research. Sir Mark served on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Mass General from 2005 to 2008.
As leader of the Wellcome Trust, Sir Mark has directed major investments toward the sequencing of cancer genomes at the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK. The Wellcome Trust has also recently supported the creation of a research alliance between the Mass General Cancer Center and the Sanger Institute to match cancer drug sensitivity patterns in 1,000 different cancer cell lines. The goal of the collaboration is to test all novel anti-cancer compounds across the full genetic variation of human cancers, in order to find new biomarkers that can guide targeted cancer therapies.
With great vision and courage, Sir Mark has repeatedly supported creative cancer research that promises to yield far-reaching impact across the globe.
