Wellcome Sanger director pledges reform after bullying investigation

The head of the Wellcome Sanger Institute has apologised for “failures in people management” and promised to review gender policies, in the wake of an investigation into allegations of bullying and discrimination that cleared him of all wrongdoing.

Although the independent investigation cleared Michael Stratton, who has been director of the institute since May 2010, it highlighted areas for improvement in gender balance and communications with staff.

Jeremy Farrar, director of the centre’s funder the Wellcome Trust, said, “Wellcome has made diversity and inclusion a priority and, like most scientific institutions, there is more to do at the Wellcome Sanger Institute to make good on this commitment. These issues should have been recognised and acted on sooner, and I apologise for not doing so.”