Wellcome Genome Campus COO joins our 'Science Cities and the Arc' forum

Dr Martin Dougherty, Wellcome Sanger Institute and Wellcome Genome Campus

Future Cities Forum is delighted that the Chief Operating Officer of the Wellcome Genome Campus and the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Dr. Martin Dougherty, will join our 'Science Cities and the Arc' physical forum at Cambridge University on 13 October.

Martin is accountable for leadership across a range of management and support functions underpinning the Sanger Institute research programmes and Wellcome Genome Campus operations. These include areas such as capital projects and organisational development, HR, finance, through to facilities management and research administration.

'My ambition is to deliver cost effective management operations to our research teams that match their world leading capabilities. An organisation like the Sanger Institute should be led by the needs of the science and the mantra in Management Operations is to provide simple and effective services that reduce the administrative burden on our researchers, so they can focus on what they do best!', he stated.

Outline planning permission has recently been granted for a major expansion of the Wellcome Genome Campus at Hinxton (nine miles south of Cambridge) by South Cambridgeshire District Council. The expansion of the Campus will provide the opportunity for scientific research to be translated into real-world health applications that genome science is making possible. It will be open to scientists, students and members of the public.

The Wellcome Genome Campus is home to world-leading research institutes, the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), whose ground-breaking research in genomics and computational biology have delivered scientific insights which have changed the course of biology and medicine. The campus vision is to build on these strong research foundations to become the international centre for activities emanating from genomes and biodata.

The campus expansion scheme also includes a travel plan which minimises the need to commute to campus by car through promoting a shuttle link to Whittlesford station, as well as enhanced bus services and improved walking and cycling connections. Well-planned public spaces and community facilities will be an essential element of the masterplan to encourage collaboration, as well as attracting the best global talent.

At Future Cities Forum this month, Martin will be joining Dr David Hardman, Managing Director of Bruntwood SciTech (Birmingham), Professor Lynette Ryals, Chief Executive of MK:U and Anna Strongman, Chief Executive of Oxford University Development among other speakers.

Aerial view of the Wellcome Genome Campus at Hinxton Cambridgeshire (Courtesy Wellcome)