Life Science

The Alaska SeaLife Center is a non-profit marine science facility dedicated to understanding and maintaining the integrity of the marine ecosystem of Alaska through research, rehabilitation and public education. The Center's research and rehabilitation facilities and naturalistic exhibits immerse visitors in the dynamic marine ecosystems of Alaska.

The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign cultivates leading-edge, interdisciplinary research of the highest quality. Research at the Institute is focused around three scientific and technologically relevant research initiatives: Biological Intelligence; Human-Computer Intelligent Interaction; and Molecular and Electronic Nanostructures. The Beckman Institute Biomedical Imaging Center, Imaging Technology Group; and Integrated Systems Laboratory provide state-of-the-art facilities and resources for innovative and groundbreaking research.

The Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project (BDGP) is a consortium of the Drosophila Genome Center, funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute, National Cancer Institute, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, through its support of work in the Gerald Rubin, Allan Spradling, Roger Hoskins, Hugo Bellen, Susan Celniker, and Gary Karpen laboratories. The goals of the Drosophila Genome Center are to finish the sequence of the euchromatic genome of Drosophila melanogaster to high quality and to generate and maintain biological annotations of this sequence. In addition to genomic sequencing, the BDGP is 1) producing gene disruptions using P element-mediated mutagenesis on a scale unprecedented in metazoans; 2) characterizing the sequence and expression of cDNAs; and 3) developing informatics tools that support the experimental process, identify features of DNA sequence, and allow us to present up-to-date information about the annotated sequence to the research community.

Bio-X is Stanford's new program focused on interdisciplinary biosciences research. By accelerating the formation of partnerships between biologists, clinicians, engineers, chemists, physicists, and computer scientists. Bio-X creates fertile ground for discovery, invention, and education.

BioDiversity Research Institute (BRI) is a small, Maine-based nonprofit group dedicated to progressive environmental research and education. Our specialty is avian (bird) studies, and aquatic toxicology. We believe loons and other piscivorous (fish-eating) birds that are high in the food chain are the best indicators of their aquatic environment's condition. See the BRI bird cams and watch bald eagles, peregrine falcons, loons, and osprey live online.

The BMERC provides research support in both the development and application of computational biology / Bioinformatics methods in biology. This includes a graduate and postdoctoral training program. The Center's research focus is currently on full-genome comparative analyses, protein structure prediction, protein function identification and domain dissection. Our work has led to the formulation and testing of hypotheses in the areas of molecular evolution, gene regulation, developmental genetics, and protein structure-function relationships.

At JILA, biophysics research groups are applying tools and concepts from physics to the understanding of living systems at the molecular level. This vibrant research field promises to yield answers to important questions about the structure, dynamics, function, and interaction of biological molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. This research is made possible by new instruments that allow researchers to measure distances much shorter than the wavelength of light (nanometers) and forces as small as one trillionth of the force required to hold an apple against Earth's gravity (piconewtons). JILA biophysics researchers are currently studying "protein motors," protein motions, and the folding dynamics of RNA and DNA.

The goal of the Biology and Biotechnology Research Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is to enhance the nations health and security through innovative multidisciplinary research in genomics, molecular biochemistry, and biotechnology. Program objectives include understanding genetic and biochemical causes of disease, countering biological terrorism, and developing and applying computational biology capabilities using the Laboratorys massively parallel computing resources. The program is also a founding partner in DOEs Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, California.

Mercury and other toxins get into the food supply through fish, which are eaten by birds, other wildlife, and ultimately humans. The BioDiversity Research Institute studies the exposure and effects of mercury in fish and wildlife populations across North and Central America and establishes regional monitoring programs. This site includes links to research reports, upcoming conferences and events, and related research groups.

Scientists have made great advances in understanding how the brain works at the cellular level. But translating this knowledge to understanding human behavior and treating brain diseases such as drug addiction, eating disorders, attention deficit disorder, and neurodegenerative disorders has lagged behind. Brookhavens Center for Translational Neuroimaging aims to bridge this gap using a network of complementary brain-imaging tools including positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These tools are a direct outgrowth of the Department of Energys (DOEs) long-standing investment in basic research in chemistry, physics and nuclear medicine. The ongoing neuroimaging research at Brookhaven is a prime example of how DOEs national laboratories bring together the expertise of chemists, physicists, and medical scientists to address questions of profound significance for society.

The Brutlag Bioinformatics Group is located in the Biochemistry Department at Stanford University and is also affiliated with the Stanford Medical Informatics program in the Department of Medicine, Stanford Medical School. We are interested in the problems of predicting biological function of genes and gene products from their primary sequence and structure (sometimes known as functional genomics). We are interested in predicting structure of protein and DNA from its sequence, and understanding how and when genes are expressed.

The mission of Burnham Institute for Medical Research is to conduct world-class collaborative research to cure human disease, improve quality of life, and thus create a legacy for its employees, partners, donors and community. The Institute conducts basic biomedical research and our philosophy is grounded in the recognition that most breakthroughs in fighting human disease come from basic scientific investigations. Moreover, the emphasis on basic research, as opposed to clinically applied research, means that Institute discoveries often reveal fundamental concepts and principles of cell biology that have broad relevance in a number of diseases. Our research activities take place in nine buildings geographically located in the heart of San Diego’s biomedical research community on Torrey Pines Research Mesa. Within a two-mile radius of our campus, our scientists enjoy collegial access to neighboring institutes, including The Salk Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, The University of California at San Diego, and San Diego’s thriving biotechnology community, the world’s fastest growing biotechnology community.

The California Biodiversity Center (CBC) is an Organized Research Unit of the University of California Berkeley that fosters collaborations between the Berkeley Natural History Museums, Berkeley's Natural History Field Stations, and other partners studying changes in California's biological diversity, past, present, and future. The mission of the California Biodiversity Center is to contribute to our understanding of the natural history of California by increasing interaction between museum-oriented scientists investigating the historical underpinnings of biodiversity, and field-oriented scientists investigating contemporary processes influencing organisms and ecosystems.

The California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3), a cooperative effort among three campuses of the University of California and private industry, harnesses the quantitative sciences to integrate our understanding of biological systems at all levels of complexity - from atoms and protein molecules to cells, tissues, organs and the entire organism. This long-sought integration allows scientists to attack problems that have been simply unapproachable before, setting the stage for fundamental new discoveries, new products and new technologies for the benefit of human health. The Institute builds on strengths in the engineering and physical sciences at UC Berkeley, engineering and mathematical sciences at UC Santa Cruz, and the medical sciences at UC San Francisco, as well as strong biology programs at the three campuses.

The California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) is a federally funded biomedical research facility dedicated to improving human and animal health. The CNPRC is part of a network of eight national primate research centers sponsored by the National Center for Research Resources, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Established in 1962, the CNPRC is affiliated with the University of California, Davis, and located on 300 acres on the western edge of the campus. The centers staff of nearly 300 comprises scientists, veterinarians, animal care technicians, specialists in pathology and animal husbandry, graduate and postdoctoral students and laboratory and administrative personnel.