Wellcome

Wellcome, commonly known as the Wellcome Trust in its early years and now simply Wellcome, is a UK-based independent charitable foundation dedicated to improving health through support for biomedical research, education, and public engagement. It was established in 1936 under the will of Henry Solomon Wellcome, an American-born pharmacist and co-founder of Burroughs Wellcome & Co., to carry on his philanthropic work after his death. The organization operates as a charitable endowment and is one of the world’s largest funders of biomedical research, providing grants, fellowships, and programmatic support to researchers and institutions worldwide. Its activities cover biomedical science, global health, data science, and health policy, with the aim of translating discoveries into practical health improvements.

Wellcome also operates the Wellcome Collection in London, a public museum and library that presents exhibitions and programs at the intersection of science, medicine, and culture. The collection serves both researchers and the public, complementing the foundation’s grantmaking with education and outreach.

In addition to direct funding, Wellcome supports major research campuses and institutes, notably the Wellcome Genome Campus, which hosts the Wellcome Sanger Institute and related facilities. The organization is governed by a board of trustees and funds its activities from an endowment; it remains independent of government and operates on a global scale with a focus on advancing health equity through research and knowledge dissemination.