HHMI unveils ambitious $500M research campus

The Janelia Farm Research Campus, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's $500 million stand-alone lab in Ashburn, VA, officially opens next month with the mission to undertake long-term biomedical research. Until now, HHMI has been a generous supporter of research programs at other institutions. Now it will both support programs around the world as well as fund research at the new campus. On campus, researchers will be free to pursue a variety of programs that are likely to take years to bear the fruit, including research on the human brain. And researchers will be allowed to devote all of their time to the research without any of the usual demands to teach or write new grant proposals. Some 500 scientists have applied so far to become one of the 24 group leaders that will be brought on by 2010.

- read the Wall Street Journal article on the research campus (sub. req.)