Carl Anderson GENEMAPPERS 2026

Carl Anderson

Carl is a statistical geneticist. He is the Head of the Human Genetics Programme and leads the Genomics of Inflammation and Immunity group at the Sanger Institute. His group generates and uses large-scale genetic and genomic data to further our understanding of common complex diseases, with a particular focus on inflammatory bowel disease. Originally from the North East of England, he completed an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Sheffield. Carl undertook his PhD in Quantitative Genetics at the University of Edinburgh, with a two-year period at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia. In 2007, he moved to a postdoctoral fellowship position at The University of Oxford to work on the IBD arm of the seminal WTCCC project. It was there that his interest and focus on IBD began, via the creation of the UK and International IBD Genetics Consortia. In 2009, Carl moved to the Sanger Institute to establish the Genomics of Inflammation and Immunity group. Between 2014 and 2023, Carl was the Director of Graduate Studies at Sanger, overseeing the Institute's programme of more than 80 graduate students. Carl took over as Head of Human Genetics in May 2023. Anderson’s group generates large-scale genetic (GWAS/WES) and genomic (e.g. single cell RNA sequencing) datasets to better understand the biological basis of inflammatory bowel disease, identify candidate drug targets for the disease and deliver personalised medicine. As such, the group has successfully secured funds to carry out multi-omics studies to look into long term outcomes of IBD, identifying biomarkers of IBD progression or drug target response (IBDverse, IBD-Response, Open-IBD). Carl is a longstanding member of the UK IBD Genetics Consortium (UKIBDGC), a network of (predominantly) gastroenterologists from across the United Kingdom. This collaboration not only provides his group with unique access to samples and rich phenotypic data from tens of thousands of IBD patients but also ensures the group benefits from deep clinical expertise when designing, implementing and interpreting our research. Carl is a co-PI of the IBD bioresource, a collection of tens of thousands of IBD patients consented for recall by phenotype and genotype, and The Health Data Research Hub for Inflammatory Bowel Disease which collates and processes routine clinical data for these patients to make it more accessible for research. Carl is also on the management committee of the International IBD Genetics Consortium.