Broad Institute

The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (pronounced /ˈbroʊd/), often referred to as the Broad Institute, is a biomedical and genomic research center located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The institute is independently governed and supported as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization under the name Broad Institute Inc.,[1][2] and is partners with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and the five Harvard teaching hospitals.

Broad Institute, 415 Main St.

Broad Institute
Established2004 (2004)
Research typeBasic (non-clinical) and translational research
Field of research
Genomics, Bioinformatics, Biomedicine
DirectorEric Lander
AffiliationsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston Children's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Dana–Farber Cancer Institute
Massachusetts General Hospital
Websitewww.broadinstitute.org

History

The Broad Institute evolved from a decade of research collaborations among MIT and Harvard scientists.[3] One cornerstone was the Center for Genome Research of Whitehead Institute at MIT. Founded in 1982, the Whitehead became a major center for genomics and the Human Genome Project. As early as 1995, scientists at the Whitehead started pilot projects in genomic medicine, forming an unofficial collaborative network among young scientists interested in genomic approaches to cancer and human genetics. Another cornerstone was the Institute of Chemistry and Cell Biology established by Harvard Medical School in 1998 to pursue chemical genetics as an academic discipline.[4] Its screening facility was one of the first high-throughput resources opened in an academic setting. It facilitated small molecule screening projects for more than 80 research groups worldwide.

To create a new organization that was open, collaborative, cross-disciplinary and able to organize projects at any scale, planning took place in 2002–2003 among philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, MIT, the Whitehead Institute, Harvard and the Harvard-affiliated hospitals (in particular, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital Boston, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Massachusetts General Hospital).

The Broads made a founding gift of $100 million and the Broad Institute was formally launched in May 2004. In November 2005, the Broads announced an additional $100 million gift to the institute.[5] On September 4, 2008, the Broads announced an endowment of $400 million to make the Broad Institute a permanent establishment.[6] In November 2013, they invested an additional $100 million to fund a second decade of research at the institute.[7]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the Broad Institute ran laboratory tests for the virus for about 100 colleges and universities in the northeastern U.S.[8]

Organizational structure

The Broad Institute has 11 core faculty[9] and 195 associate members from Harvard, MIT, and the Harvard-affiliated hospitals.[10]

The Broad Institute is made up of three types of organizational units: core member laboratories, research programs, and platforms. The institute's scientific research programs include:[11]

The Broad Institute's platforms are teams of professional scientists who focus on the discovery, development, and optimization of the technological tools that Broad and other researchers use to conduct research. The platforms include:[12]

The Broad Institute also supports the Data Visualization Initiative led by the Institute creative director Bang Wong, which is aimed at developing data visualizations to explore and communicate research findings.[13]

Core members

The faculty and staff of the Broad Institute include physicians, geneticists, and molecular, chemical, and computational biologists. The faculty currently includes 11 Core Members, whose labs are primarily located within the Broad Institute, and 195 Associate Members, whose primary labs are located at one of the universities or hospitals.[14]

The Core Members of the Broad Institute include:[15]

  • Paul Blainey is an expert in microfluidic systems to study single molecules and cells; one of the main aims of his lab is to make single-cell analysis routine.
  • Todd Golub, a physician-researcher, is director of the cancer program. He applies genomic tools to the classification and study of cancers.
  • Myriam Heiman combines genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology to study the features that define different types of neurons and their vulnerability to disease.
  • Deborah Hung is a chemical biologist and an infectious disease physician who studies the interactions between pathogens and their hosts, with the goal of discovering new antibiotic targets.
  • Steven Hyman is the director of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research.[16]
  • Eric Lander is the director of the Broad Institute. A geneticist, molecular biologist and mathematician, Lander has been a driving force in the development of genomics and a prominent leader of the Human Genome Project.
  • David R. Liu is a chemist and a chemical biologist, the Director of the Merkin Institute, the inventor of DNA-templated synthesis, phage-assisted directed evolution and Cas9/CRISPR base-editing.
  • Aviv Regev is a computational biologist with interests in biological networks, gene regulation and evolution.
  • Stuart Schreiber is director of the Chemical Biology program. He has developed systematic ways to explore biology, especially disease biology, using small molecules toward the development of therapeutic drugs.
  • Edward Scolnick is the former President of Merck Research Laboratories, former Director and current Chief Scientist of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research.
  • Feng Zhang is a professor at MIT who developed optogenetics and genome editing (CRISPR) technologies.

Facilities

The Broad Institute's facilities at 320 Charles Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, house one of the largest genome sequencing centers in the world. As WICGR (Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research), this facility was the largest contributor of sequence information to the Human Genome Project.

In February 2006, The Broad Institute expanded to a new building at 415 Main Street, adjacent to the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.[17] This seven-story 231,000-square-foot (21,500 m2) building contains office, research laboratory, retail and museum space. In 2011, the institute announced plans to construct an additional tower adjacent to the 415 Main Street site at 75 Ames Street.[18] On May 21, 2014, the Broad officially inaugurated a 375,000-square-foot research building at 75 Ames Street in Cambridge's Kendall Square.[19] The new facility has 15 floors, 11 of which are occupied, and has LEED gold certification. As of July 2014, it has around 800 occupants.

Funding

Between 2009 and 2012, the operating revenue of the institute was approximately $200 million, with 55% of that coming from federal grants.[20] The Broad Foundation (Eli and Edythe Broad) has provided $700 million in funding to the Broad Institute as of February 2014.[21]

The Klarman Family Foundation provided a $32.5 million grant to Broad to study cellular processes in 2012.[22] In October 2013, Fundación Carlos Slim (the Carlos Slim Foundation) of Mexico announced a $74 million grant to Broad Institute for the SIGMA2 consortium.[23]

In July 2014, coinciding with the publication of a new study on the genetics of schizophrenia,[24] the Broad Institute received a $650 million gift from the Stanley Family Foundation, one of the largest private gifts ever for scientific research.[25][26][27]

On October 10, 2017, it was reported that Deerfield Management Co. was giving $50 million to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to support biology research.[28]

Honors

Since 2010, the Broad Institute has been listed on The Boston Globe's Top Places to Work. The 2014 report from Thomson Reuters' ScienceWatch entitled "The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds" recognized that 12 out of the 17 "hottest" researchers in science belonged to genomics, and 4 out of the top 5 were affiliated with the Broad Institute.[29] Additionally, Stacey B. Gabriel of the Broad Institute topped this entire list. Twenty-eight researchers from Broad Institute have been recognized on ISI's Highly Cited, a database that recognizes the top 250 researchers in multiple areas of science.[30]

Eric S. Lander, Stuart L. Schreiber, Aviv Regev and Edward M. Scolnick are members of the National Academy of Sciences[31] and the Institute of Medicine. David Altshuler is a member of the Institute of Medicine.[32] Feng Zhang received the 2014 Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation, its highest honor that annually recognizes an outstanding researcher under the age of 35, for contributions to both optogenetics and CRISPR technology.[33]

In biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology areas, the institute was ranked #1 in the "Mapping Excellence" report, a survey that assessed high-impact publications.[34]

For its architecture, Broad's 415 Main Street building architects Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston and AHSC McLellan Copenhagen of San Francisco received high honors in the 2007 Laboratory of the Year competition of the R&D Magazine.[35]

References
  1. "Nonprofit Report for BROAD INSTITUTE INC". GuideStar.org. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  2. "Broad Institute-MIT & Harvard". Manta Media Inc.
  3. "Broad Institute created: Links Harvard, M.I.T., and others in interdisciplinary initiative in genomics and medicine". Harvard Gazette. July 17, 2003. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  4. "A Brief History of the ICCB-Longwood Screening Facility". Harvard Medical School. Archived from the original on December 19, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  5. "Broads' Dollars Doubled". Broad Institute. November 30, 2005.
  6. "Philanthropists Eli and Edythe L. Broad make unprecedented gift to endow the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT".
  7. "Broad Institute launches next decade with new $100M gift".
  8. Robust test regimen keeps Williams College (mostly) COVID-free
  9. "Core Faculty Labs". Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  10. "195 faculty members from Harvard, MIT and the Harvard teaching hospitals appointed as Broad associate members". Broad Communications. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  11. Broad Programs, Broad Institute official website (retrieved October 30, 2012).
  12. Broad Platforms, Broad Institute official site (retrieved October 24, 2013).
  13. "Data Visualization Initiative". Broad Institute. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  14. "Broad Institute welcomes 135 associate members", Broad Institute (November 4, 2011).
  15. Broad Institute official website, Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  16. "Steven E. Hyman, M.D.", Broad Institute. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  17. "Contact - Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard".
  18. Lipinski, Pearle. "Broad plans extension in Cambridge Center". Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  19. "Broad Institute celebrates opening of new building". Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  20. "Broad Institute Annual Report 2012" (PDF). Broad Institute. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  21. "PHILANTHROPY 50 - No. 15: Eli and Edythe Broad". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  22. "Broad Institute Receives $32.5 Million From Klarman Family Foundation". Philanthropy News Digest. Foundation Center. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  23. "Carlos Slim Foundation Awards $74 Million to Broad Institute Genomics Center". Philanthropy News Digest. Foundation Center. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  24. Weintraub, Karen. "Schizophrenia has clear genetic ties, new study finds". USA Today. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  25. "Spark for a Stagnant Search: A $650 Million Donation for Psychiatric Research". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  26. Fidler, Ben. "Stanley Gives Broad Institute $650M Gift For Psych Research". Xconomy. Xconomy. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  27. Nickisch, Curt. "Inspired By Family Illness, Philanthropist Gives $650 Million For Psychiatric Research". WBUR's Common Health. WBUR. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  28. Rockoff, Jonathan D. (October 10, 2017). "Deerfield Management to Fund Biology Research at Broad Institute". The Wall Street Journal. New York City, New York, United States. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  29. "THE WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL SCIENTIFIC MINDS 2014" (PDF). Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  30. "ISI Highly Cited". highlycited.com/. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  31. "NAS Members". www.nasonline.org/member-directory/?q=&site=nas_members&partialfields=(member_institution:broad). National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  32. "IOM Members". IOM Members. Institute of Medicine. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  33. "The National Science Foundation names Feng Zhang its Alan T. Waterman Awardee for 2014". www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=131048. NSF. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  34. "The World's Best (And Worst) Scientific Institutions Ranked By Discipline". www.technologyreview.com/view/517606/the-worlds-best-and-worst-scientific-institutions-ranked-by-discipline/. Technology Review. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  35. "R&D Magazine Lab of the Year Winners". www.rdmag.com/articles/2014/03/r-d-magazines-laboratory-year-winners. Retrieved June 30, 2014.

Further reading
  • Commentary on the Broad Institute's website, receiving a 4-star excellent rating:
    Kevin Ahern, Ph.D. (2009). "GEN Best of the Web". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. 29 (8): 66.

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