Nothing Reclusive About Spectacular $500 Million Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Virginia

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). The namesake of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) (Chevy Chase, Maryland) was infamous in his later years for being a world-class recluse, which unfortunately often overshadowed the brilliance of invention that was the hallmark of his earlier years. Hoping to achieve the same level of new discoveries and carrying no trace of reticence for recognition, the HHMI recently opened the doors to its new $500 million biomedical research institute in Ashburn, Virginia (reference: Pharmaceutical Tracker - Online Database).

Formally known as the Janelia Farm Research Campus (JFRC), the center has opened its doors wide to scientists who are being recruited from top institutions across the world. Together, they will collaborate supported by individual research teams across multiple disciplines, coming together to seek answers to some of the most challenging questions facing basic biomedical research today.

Rafael Vinoly Architects PC (New York, New York) designed the world-class institute, which will employ 24 research group leaders among the expected total of over 250 scientific personnel. Group leaders will be granted an initial appointment for six years. Thereafter, they will be reviewed for reappointment every five years. One of the major goals of the institute was to free its researchers from most of the administrative, grant writing, and teaching duties that can often consume their peers at universities. This would permit them to use the majority of their time working in the lab or constructively interacting with the other teams.

With plenty of room for future expansion, the JFRC is located on a 281-acre site just outside of Washington, D.C., near Dulles Airport., that was purchased by HHMI in 2000 for $53.7 million. In 2004, the Institute purchased Selden Island, an adjacent 400-acre property, bringing the total size of the campus to 689 acres. Jacobs Engineering Group, Incorporated’s subsidiary, Jacobs Facilities, Incorporated, was selected to act as project manager on this first phase of the project, while Turner served as construction manager.

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