The project works to combine knowledge of the human genome sequence with high throughput mutation detection techniques.
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute's project currently has several internal partners that each focus on different types of cancer and mutagenesis utilizing different methods.
The group invests a large interest in lineage choice, stem cell self-renewal, and differentiation, which would have implications in early detection, prevention, and therapy options for cancer and other genetic diseases.
The group utilizes next-generation sequencing technologies, genetic screens, and bioinformatics to increase the knowledge of the effect that cancer genomes have on drug sensitivity and resistance in relation to patients.
The group uses computational methods to identify the unique signature of mutagenesis in somatic cells to help increase the understanding of how mutations in DNA contribute to aging and cancer.
The group studies how different genes and their pathways assist in the evolution of blood cancers, with an ultimate goal of developing treatment that will increase the quality and length of life of patients.
The group then utilized mathematical methods to help determine the unique mutational signatures of the underlying processes leading to the evolution from healthy to diseased tissue for each of the sampled cancers.
[10] The McDermott group in participation with other labs worked to find new treatment possibilities for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis.