Overview & Philosophy

The MRC LMB and Bell Labs are generally considered to have been the most successful research institutions in biology and electronics, respectively, and although neither currently exists in its original form, they have served as useful models for Janelia Farm. Despite the fact that one of these institutions was a small public-sector biological research laboratory and the other a large private-sector electronics enterprise, they shared a surprisingly wide range of operating principles:

• Individual research groups were small. At the MRC LMB and Bell Labs, small group size was considered essential to promote collaboration and communication between groups as well as good mentoring.
• Group leaders were active bench scientists. Group leaders at the MRC LMB and Bell Labs were active bench scientists who carried out experimental work with their own hands. This was true even for Nobel Prize winners and department chairs.
• Research was internally funded. All research funding at the MRC LMB and Bell Labs was provided from internal sources at a dependable and generous level. Outside grant applications were not permitted, nor was there any obvious pressure for the work to be of immediate medical relevance or commercial value.
• Excellent support facilities and infrastructure were provided. At both the MRC LMB and Bell Labs, there was core support for routine functions, such as glassware washing, media preparation, and central stores as well as for sophisticated functions such as instrumentation design and fabrication. This enabled individuals and small groups to function effectively and to focus on creative activities.
• Staff turnover was high and tenure limited. Many scientists were at an "early career stage" and moved on to university positions after 5-10 years. The ones who remained for their entire career continued to be active researchers with their own hands.
• Originality, creativity, and collegiality were valued and supported. The MRC LMB and Bell Labs emphasized tackling difficult and important research problems. Management at both institutions were knowledgeable with the work carried out under their direction and could evaluate the potential of those who had not yet achieved external recognition.

The Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology

The Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, was founded in 1947 and was the world’s leading molecular biology research center for a 30-year period between 1950 and 1980.

Although the laboratory never had more than a total of 250 scientists and support staff, or more than 30,000 sq. ft. of laboratory space, its scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize on eight separate occasions for discoveries made during this 30-year period that included determining the structure of DNA, determining the three-dimensional structure of a protein using X-ray crystallography, developing methods for sequencing DNA, developing of monoclonal antibodies, and establishing of C. elegans as a model system and its use to study cell death.

The laboratory was also a major international center for training; four current HHMI investigators obtained their Ph.D. degrees at the laboratory and 12 did postdoctoral work there—a far higher number than any other foreign institution.

Bell Labs

AT&T's Bell Laboratories (now known as Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs), founded in the 1920s, is generally regarded as having been the most successful industrial research laboratory; many important advances in solid state physics and electronics were made there, including development of the transistor and the laser.

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) was established in 1974 and is supported by 20 countries, including nearly all of Western Europe and Israel.

It currently has about 900 employees and is located about 20 minutes outside Heidelberg, Germany, on top of a hill in a state park surrounded by residential neighborhoods. The nearest stores and restaurants are located about a mile away. The EMBL is generally considered one of the best research laboratories in Europe and arguably runs the most competitive graduate program in the fields of molecular and cell biology and computational biology in Europe, with a total of about 200 Ph.D. students.

At the EMBL, group leaders have an initial 5-year term, which is almost always renewed for a terminal 4-year term, but there is no tenure. About 15 percent of the group leaders are given "indefinite" appointments that can be terminated by the director with 4 years' notice. These appointments are given only to individuals who take on administrative duties (for example, program coordinator or head of graduate program).

It is believed that requiring nearly all group leaders to turn over with the same term, regardless of the perception of their scientific merit, reduces internal competition and increases cooperation between groups.

Group leaders generally receive funding for four or five technicians or postdoctoral associates. They are also allowed to add one new Ph.D. student per year, and almost all do. They can accept externally funded postdoctoral fellows and apply for external grants, although their opportunities are limited since they are often ineligible for host country grant programs. They can have as many people in their group as they are willing to fit into their space.

Average group size for mature groups is about 10. There is also a "team leader" position, a 3-year appointment used mainly as a way of extending time for productive postdoctoral fellows. There is a range of opinions among those at the EMBL about the wisdom of allowing outside funding.

Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Embryology

Founded in 1913, this research laboratory has a long-standing association with the Johns Hopkins University and is located on its Homewood campus in Baltimore.

The department consists of eight staff members, two staff associates, 25 postdoctoral fellows, 21 graduate students, and approximately 54 support staff (technicians, lab aides, maintenance personnel, and administrative staff). Its scientists employ molecular and genetic approaches to study basic problems in cell and developmental biology.

Carnegie is notable as a first-class U.S. research institute (two of its eight group leaders are HHMI investigators) that does not grant tenure. Staff members have 5-year appointments that are renewable at the discretion of the director. Group size—whether for a newly appointed group leader or the director—is limited to eight additional researchers. Staff members all hold adjunct faculty appointments at Hopkins.

The staff associates have a similar arrangement to that we have set up for Janelia Farm fellows—a 5-year appointment and a group size of three. There is excellent support for research infrastructure, and all large equipment is shared. The department holds weekly research colloquia in which its scientists present their work internally. The result is a highly interactive and unusually collegial environment. One-half of the funding comes from outside sources (HHMI and federal grants).

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL)

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a research and educational institution that was founded at the turn of the last century and now has 48 research faculty members. It has research programs focusing on cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, quantitative biology, genomics, and bioinformatics, and it has a broad educational mission, including a doctoral program, the Watson School of Biological Sciences. CSHL is located on Long Island about an hour outside New York City.

CSHL does not offer tenure but allows the most successful scientists to be promoted to a full professor position. These professors are given rolling 5-year appointments—that is, they can be given a 5-year terminal appointment at any time at the discretion of the director. Group size varies from two to 20. About 80 percent of funding comes from external sources.

In addition to providing an example of a physically isolated, freestanding research institution that has been scientifically successful without granting tenure, CSHL provides a useful role model of how to overcome physical and intellectual isolation as well as provide a service to the scientific community by means of an extensive program of scientific conferences and training courses. About 30 advanced courses (two to three weeks) and 25 scientific conferences (three to six days) are held on campus each year, bringing about 8,000 visitors to the laboratory.