Press release

Sir John Sulston awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine: Wellcome Trust comment

Dr Mike Dexter, Director of the Wellcome Trust said: "Sir John's achievements rank alongside our greatest biological and medical discoveries. His C. elegans work inspired a new era in scientific research, and the sequencing of its genome was the spark that initiated the international Human Genome Project.

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Dr Mike Dexter, Director of the Wellcome Trust said: "Sir John's achievements rank alongside our greatest biological and medical discoveries. His C. elegans work inspired a new era in scientific research, and the sequencing of its genome was the spark that initiated the international Human Genome Project.

"These were among the many highlights in the career of this outstanding scientist, who provided unswerving and principled leadership during his time as Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute."

Dr Allan Bradley, who replaced Sir John as Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute said: "This is absolutely fantastic news! It's great for John and for British Science. I am thrilled that John's work has been honoured by the highest award. John has been instrumental in laying out several of the foundations upon which almost all experimental work in the worm depends. This began with the lineage map and extends to the genome sequence. John's vision in developing and persevering to finish the job is an inspiration to us all."