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wt-grid-section-center banner--top-level-page__title"> <h1>About us</h1> </div> </div> </div> <div id="main" class=" wt-grid-main wt-grid-content-main " role="main"> <div id="toolbar" class="site-toolbar"> </div> <div class="wt-grid-left wt-grid-section-left"></div> <div class="wt-grid-center wt-grid-section-center"> <h3 class="intro"> <p>Wellcome exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive.</p> </h3> <p>We’re a global charitable foundation, both politically and financially independent. We support scientists and researchers, take on big problems, fuel imaginations, and spark debate.</p> <figure class="media media--full media--video"> <div class="media__inner-container"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" title="Watch our video about the power of asking questions" src="//web.archive.org/web/20180119062015if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/KgPTKGX3iOc?wmode=opaque&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&color=white&autohide=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> <figcaption class="media-caption"> <p class="media-caption__text">Watch our video about the power of asking questions</p> <div class="media__transcript"> </div> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="we-value-breadth-and-depth-in-the-activities-we-support">We value breadth and depth in the activities we support</h2> <p>We remain true to the vision and values of our founder, <a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/about-us/history-wellcome">Sir Henry Wellcome</a>, a medical entrepreneur, collector and philanthropist. Our work today reflects the amazing breadth of Henry's interests, and his belief that science and research expand knowledge by testing and investigating ideas. Our <a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/about-us/governance">governance</a> is based on an updated version of his will.</p> <p>Our funding supports over 14,000 people in more than 70 countries. In the next five years, we aim to spend up to £5 billion helping thousands of curious, passionate people all over the world explore ideas in science, population health, medical innovation, the humanities and social sciences and public engagement.</p> <p>For example, one of the world’s biggest challenges is how to be better prepared for the next major epidemic. We take on this problem in many different ways – here are just a handful:</p> <ul><li>Vaccine development, such as when we co-funded the <a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/news/breakthrough-search-ebola-vaccine">development of a new Ebola vaccine</a></li><li>Public health interventions, such as insecticide-treated bednets for malaria</li><li>Behavioural projects, such as <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119062015/http://www.elrha.org/map-location/irc-behavioural-change-ebola/">training health workers</a> to reduce risk of infection while working on the frontline</li><li>Social science, including research into the ethics of medical trials involving pregnant women, of urgent importance because of the Zika virus.</li><li>Developing research leaders in regions most affected by infectious disease (as we’ve done through our <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119062015/http://www.aasciences.ac.ke/academy/academy-pages/developing-excellence-in-leadership-training-and-science-deltas-africa-initiative/">DELTAS Africa initiative</a>)</li><li>Advocacy, encouraging governments and global businesses to take part in building a more secure future for global health</li></ul><h2 id="we-bring-these-activities-together-to-make-a-difference">We bring these activities together to make a difference</h2> <p>When we can, we bring together different people and strands of activity to create something greater than the sum of its parts.</p> <p>Sometimes that means backing an idea in the laboratory, and then helping it develop into a new treatment or approach to patient care.</p> <p>For example, the idea for how to prevent mitochondrial disease – a devastating genetic illness passed from mother to child – came after years of scientific research to understand the basic biology of mitochondria and what happens when they don’t work properly.</p> <p>The development of new IVF techniques for preventing it followed, and our policy and campaign work to promote change means that UK law now allows these techniques to be considered for use.</p> <p>At other times, we take an interdisciplinary approach from the start. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119062015/http://wellcomecollection.org/what-we-do/hub">The Hub</a>, for example, is a specially designed space where researchers and other creative minds can collaborate. Created Out of Mind, a group exploring dementia, are our Hub residents until 2018.</p> <p>A network including scientists, artists, clinicians, public health experts and broadcasters will examine and challenge perceptions of dementia through scientific and creative experiments, collaborations and public events. </p><h2 id="we-can-take-the-long-view-while-also-acting-flexibly">We can take the long view, while also acting flexibly</h2> <p>We have a <a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/about-us/investments">£20.9bn investment portfolio</a>, which funds all the work we do. This allows us to plan for the long-term, while having the independence to act flexibly and responsively.</p> <p>We've funded the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119062015/http://www.sanger.ac.uk/">Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute</a> since 1993. It played a key role in the Human Genome Project, mapping 30% of the human DNA sequence as part of an international collaboration. Our backing kept the results public, which meant researchers could freely – and permanently – access the data. Today, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute continues to be a world leader in genome research.</p> <p>We run <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119062015/https://wellcomecollection.org/">Wellcome Collection</a>, a free destination in central London that’s open to everyone. Wellcome Collection is also the home of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119062015/http://wellcomelibrary.org/">Wellcome Library</a>, one of the world’s best resources for the study of medical history.</p> <p>These long-term investments – and many others – ensure discoveries and knowledge are freely available to all for generations to come.</p><h2 id="we-work-with-others-to-reach-our-goals">We work with others to reach our goals</h2> <p>We work with academia, philanthropy, business, governments and civil society around the world.</p> <p>With this network of people and partner organisations, we can achieve more than would be possible on our own. We might not always succeed, but we are committed to being as daring, open and ambitious as we can be in our efforts to improve health and make life better.</p><h2 id="we-want-to-hear-from-you">We want to hear from you</h2> <p>If you’d like to find out more, read about <a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/what-we-do">what we do</a> or about <a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/about-us/our-strategy">our strategic approach</a> to improving health.</p> <p>If this sounds like a place you’d like to work, browse our <a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/jobs">latest jobs</a>.</p> </div> <div class="wt-grid-right wt-grid-section-right"> <div class="promo promo--normal"> <h3 class="promo__title">Latest news</h3> <div class="promo__content"> <div class="tile promo__item"> <div class="tile__inner"> <span class="tile__type tile__type--opinion">Opinion</span> <img class="tile__image lazyload lazyload non-vital" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/news_lead/public/researchers-crack-dna-riddle-to-show-how-mitosis-process-works-20180118-1200x1200.jpg?itok=x0ppK0Xl" alt="Digitised image of a mother cell, painted on silk"/> <div class="tile__text "> <h3 class="tile__title "><a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/news/researchers-crack-dna-riddle-show-how-process-mitosis-works" class="tile__link" target="_self">Researchers crack DNA riddle to show how process of mitosis works </a></h3> <p class="tile__meta"> 18 January 2018 </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="tile promo__item"> <div class="tile__inner"> <span class="tile__type tile__type--news">News</span> <img class="tile__image lazyload lazyload non-vital" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/news_lead/public/wellcome-approach-public-engagement-going-to-change-20180116-1200x1200.jpg?itok=jmhV2cw-" alt="Imran Khan, Wellcome's Head of Public Engagement"/> <div class="tile__text "> <h3 class="tile__title "><a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/news/wellcomes-approach-engaging-public-going-change" class="tile__link" target="_self">Wellcome's approach to engaging the public is going to change</a></h3> <p class="tile__meta"> 17 January 2018 </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="tile promo__item"> <div class="tile__inner"> <span class="tile__type tile__type--news">News</span> <img class="tile__image lazyload lazyload non-vital" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/sites/default/files/styles/news_lead/public/investing-medical-research-yields-healthy-returns-20180110-1200x1200.jpg?itok=tv2IAuq4" alt="Coloured X-ray of anti-inflammatory injection into shoulder to treat rheumatoid arthritis"/> <div class="tile__text "> <h3 class="tile__title "><a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/news/investing-medical-research-yields-healthy-returns" class="tile__link" target="_self">Investing in medical research yields healthy returns</a></h3> <p class="tile__meta"> 10 January 2018 </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="promo__link"><a href="/web/20180119062015/https://wellcome.ac.uk/news" class="promo__button">More related news</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="promo promo--light"> <h3 class="promo__title">Sign up to our newsletter</h3> <div class="promo__content"> <div class="js-only promo__form__container"> <div class="promo__intro__text__container"> <p>Get the latest news by email about Wellcome and the work we fund.</p> </div> <div class="client-form__success"> <p>Thank you. 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