Series: Molecular Medicine Institutions The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Gerald R. Fink, Ph.D., Director The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research tists to pursue independent research programs as is one of the youngest independent research and an alternative to traditional postdoctoral posi- teaching institutions in the United States, with tions. Ph.D. and M.D. graduates with proven innovative programs in cancer and AIDS re- independence in research are provided the space, search, developmental biology, structural biol- time, and resources necessary to function as ogy, and genetics. Located in Cambridge, Massa- principal investigators. The Fellows, unencum- chusetts, the Institute was the brainchild of the bered by financial constraints or teaching re- late philanthropist, Edwin C. "Jack" Whitehead, sponsibilities, are able to concentrate on their who sought to create a fertile environment for research and establish their own scientific basic research. He envisioned a research institu- programs. tion that would exist outside the boundaries of a Currently the Institute has five fellows who traditional academic institution and yet, through represent an added tier of new P.I.'s at the a teaching affiliation, offer all of the intellectual, Whitehead Institute. The remainder of the collegial, and scientific benefits of a leading re- Whitehead scientific staff consists of approxi- search university. mately 96 postdoctoral fellows, 35 visiting scien- Mr. Whitehead planned the institution with tists from universities and research institutions Nobel laureate Dr. David Baltimore, the Insti- around the world, 56 MIT and 9 other graduate tute's first director, and a handful of scientists students, 35 MIT and 17 other undergraduates, who were attracted to this idea. The Whitehead 63 research technicians, and 26 other research Institute became a reality in 1981, and a year staff. The Institute has a total staff of approxi- later it established a formal affiliation with Mas- mately 500. sachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The Another unique feature of the Whitehead Institute's marriage with MIT and the quality of Institute stems from its founding principle: the its research have earned it a place among the importance of seeding innovative ideas not sup- leading biomedical research institutions in the ported by conventional funding sources. By pro- world. Today, it has a faculty of 13 members who viding seed money, the Institute guarantees that have joint appointments in the MIT Biology De- creative new ideas will not be lost for lack of partment and participate fully in the depart- resources. These ideas often grow into successful ment's activities but carry out their research pro- research projects and are then able to compete grams at the Whitehead Institute, which is solely for federal grants and grants from foundations, responsible for their support. The Institute also corporations, and individuals. Many of the Insti- houses the Whitehead/MIT Center for Genome tute's major research programs have blossomed Research, the largest component of the U.S. gov- from this approach. ernment's Human Genome Project. The White- One notable example is the Genome Center. head Institute is guided by a board of directors, This bustling research center with 85 staff mem- chaired by former Senator Paul E. Tsongas, and a bers and two novel robots began as a proposal board of advisory scientists. from a young mathematician from Harvard Busi- In addition to its unusual organizational ness School who wanted to apply mathematics structure, the Whitehead Institute has other and computer technology to genetics. The novelties that account for its prominence. One of Whitehead Institute provided him the resources the most notable is the Whitehead Fellows Pro- to realize his ideas through the Whitehead Fel- gram. This program allows talented young scien- lows Program. Today, this investigator, Eric 530 Copyright 0 1996, Molecular Medicine, 1076-1551/96/$10.50/0 Molecular Medicine, Volume 2, Number 5, September 1996 530-532 Series: Molecular Medicine Institutions 531 Dr. Eric S. Lander Dr. Harvey F. Lodish Dr. Paul T. Matsudaira Dr. Terry L. Orr-Weaver Dr. David C. Page Dr. Hazel L. Sive Dr. Robert A. Weinberg Dr. Richard A. Young Whitehead Fellows: FIG. 1. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Re- search and a view of its new wing Dr. Angelika Amon The photograph is courtesy of Abbott-Boyle, Inc. Dr. James Berger Dr. George Q. Daley Dr. Michael P. Lisanti Dr. Julie Theriot Lander, directs the Genome Center, is a member of the Whitehead Institute, and a professor of The Whitehead Institute contributes to tech- biology at MIT. Under his direction, the Genome nology transfer by licensing development rights Center has become the largest federally funded on patents awarded for Whitehead discoveries. center for genome mapping and sequencing and The Institute has more than 50 licensing agree- recently completed a comprehensive physical ments on products ranging from AIDS vaccine map spanning 95% of the human genome. Ge- candidates to new robotics technologies with nome Center scientists are now forging ahead to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies the final and most exciting phase of the Genome throughout the United States. Project, large-scale sequencing. Another unique feature of the Whitehead This seeding of new ideas has fueled research Institute is the facility itself. When the building in all of the Whitehead laboratories, as has the was completed in July 1984, it represented the collaboration with MIT and other institutions state-of-the-art in science infrastructure. This and the close internal interactions among faculty 160,000-gross sq ft, seven-story building was members (engendered by the small size of the specially designed to encourage collaboration Institute). Today, our research program reflects a and provide a supportive research environment. rich tapestry of efforts in diverse disciplines: mo- The first two floors include administrative space, lecular genetics using a variety of model systems cafeteria, auditorium, workshops, library, com- including yeast, plants, fruitflies, frogs, zebrafish, puting center, and animal facility. The third and mice; cancer genetics; transgenics; structural through sixth floors house 59 laboratories and biology; cell biology; developmental biology; gene faculty offices, with shared resources and com- transcription; infectious diseases and vaccine tech- mon spaces designed to encourage collabora- nology; biomedical engineering; and automation tions. The seventh floor contains a classroom, a and robotics. We have also hired two new faculty greenhouse to study plant genetics, a faculty members who bring added expertise in olfaction lounge, and mechanical spaces. The Institute re- and RNA research. These diverse research inter- cently added a new research wing (Fig. 1), a ests converge on a single unifying theme: to un- 76,000-sq ft addition that doubles the size of the derstand the molecular basis of disease by com- mouse facility, houses an X-ray crystallography paring normal with mutant forms. suite, and provides space for new faculty and Fellows. The Faculty and Fellows at the Whitehead Whitehead Institute also has a strong Institute for Biomedical Research commitment to science education. The annual Whitehead Institute Symposium, a 3-day event Faculty: on a topic selected for its timeliness and broad Dr. Gerald R. Fink, Director scientific appeal, attracts 1400 scientists and stu- Dr. David P. Bartel dents from around the world. The Whitehead Dr. Andrew Chess Institute also has developed a series of programs Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch to help its students and others explore ethical Dr. Peter S. Kim dilemmas in biomedical research. This includes 532 Molecular Medicine, Volume 2, Number 5, September 1996 the Whitehead Task Force on Genetic Testing, stretch the imagination with topics such as "The Privacy, and Public Policy. In addition, the Truth Behind Jurassic Park" and "Biotechnology: Whitehead Public Lecture Series, "Biology and From Bench to Bedside." the Future," provided an opportunity for some The evolution of science at the Whitehead 300 scientists and nonscientists to explore to- Institute and the rapidly changing technologies gether the social, ethical, and environmental have transformed the research environment, consequences of the revolution in molecular creating needs for new and expanded facilities biology. and equipment. To meet these needs, in 1993 the The Institute has also forged strong ties with Whitehead Board of Directors adopted a strategic local schools. The 5-year-old Partnership for Sci- plan to reflect the achievements and goals of the ence Education provides regular opportunities Whitehead faculty. The plan consists of major for high school teachers and students in the Bos- initiatives in three key research areas: transgenic ton/Cambridge area to share learning experi- science, structural biology, and infectious dis- ences with young working scientists. Participat- ease. The new wing and our recently completed ing teachers have said that it has revitalized their capital campaign will ensure that our researchers teaching. During winter vacation, the Whitehead continue to have the resources they need to offers a high school student program designed to move forward in the decades ahead..