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Indian-origin CEO at helm of UK’s largest epigenetics project
The initiative, part of a collaboration between Oxford Nanopore Technologies, UK Biobank, NHS England, and Genomics England, was unveiled last week by the UK government.
CEO Gordon Sanghera of Oxford Nanopore Technologies. / Oxford Nanopore Technologies
A groundbreaking UK partnership aims to revolutionize the understanding and treatment of diseases like cancer, dementia, and heart disease through the creation of a world-first "epigenetic map" of the human genome. This "significant leap forward in epigenetic research" is led by Indian-origin CEO Gordon Sanghera of Oxford Nanopore Technologies.
“This project represents a significant leap forward in epigenetic research, an increasingly important area of study related to disease progression and response to treatment,” said Sanghera, born in the UK to a Punjabi family.
The initiative, part of a collaboration between Oxford Nanopore Technologies, UK Biobank, NHS England, and Genomics England, was unveiled last week by the UK government. The project will use Oxford Nanopore’s pioneering technology to sequence 50,000 samples from UK Biobank, creating the world’s most comprehensive dataset of epigenetic modifications.
“By capturing comprehensive methylation data, we aim to open new doors for understanding disease, especially cancer, and ultimately enable more personalized, effective treatments for patients,” Sanghera added.
Epigenetics, the study of how inheritable traits can change without altering DNA, is central to this research. Modifications in gene expression caused by environmental factors like smoking or UV exposure can play a key role in disease progression.
The partnership aligns with the UK government’s '10 Year Health Plan,' which focuses on prevention rather than treatment.
“Diseases like cancer and dementia have brought heartache to every family in the country. By bringing government, the NHS, researchers, and leading businesses together, we can transform our understanding of these conditions,” said Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science and Technology.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting emphasized the importance of integrating innovation into healthcare: “We will marry the care and compassion of the NHS with the ingenuity of our country’s leading scientific minds to develop cutting-edge treatments and make our NHS fit for the future.”
Professor Naomi Allen, chief scientist at UK Biobank, highlighted the groundbreaking nature of the project.
“Our lifestyle and environment can cause chemical changes to our DNA, contributing to disease by altering how genes function. This project will create a dataset orders of magnitude larger and more detailed than anything else in the world, enabling a deeper understanding of how diseases develop in mid-to-old age,” she explained.
Recent studies suggest epigenetics plays a crucial role in uncovering cancer's underlying causes and developing targeted treatments. Sanghera’s company, a successful spinout from Oxford University founded in 2005, will employ its innovative sequencing technology to analyze a wide range of epigenetic changes during DNA sequencing, providing unparalleled insights for global health researchers.
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