Biology

Founded in 1983 by the eminent ecologist Dr. Gene E. Likens, the Institute is one of the largest ecological programs in the world. The Institute of Ecosystem Studies combines research and education in fulfillment of its scientific mission. Central to the Institute's mission is the creation, dissemination, and application of knowledge about ecological systems. A society with a basic understanding of ecological systems and an appreciation of their role in the quality of human life is essential if natural areas are to be sustained.

The Institute of Human Origins (IHO) conducts, interprets and publicizes scientific research on the human career. IHO's unique approach brings together scientists from diverse disciplines to develop integrated, bio-behavioral investigations of human evolution. Through research, education, and the sponsorship of scholarly interaction, IHO advances scientific understanding of our origins and its contemporary relevance. Combining interdisciplinary expertise and targeted funding, IHO fosters the pursuit of integrated solutions to the most important questions regarding the course, cause and timing of events in human evolution.

The Food Safety Risk Analysis Clearinghouse is the responsibility of the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), a collaboration between the University of Maryland (UM) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A steering committee, comprised of five members from the JIFSAN and the FDA, oversees the development and operation of the Clearinghouse.

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) led the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) contribution to the International Human Genome Project, which had as its primary goal the sequencing of the human genome. This project was successfully completed in April 2003. Now, the NHGRI's mission has expanded to encompass a broad range of studies aimed at understanding the structure and function of the human genome and its role in health and disease. To that end NHGRI supports the development of resources and technology that will accelerate genome research and its application to human health. A critical part of the NHGRI mission continues to be the study of the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of genome research. NHGRI also supports the training of investigators and the dissemination of genome information to the public and to health professionals.

Stem cell therapy can be defined as a part of a group of new techniques, or technologies that rely on replacing diseased or dysfunctional cells with healthy, functioning ones. These new techniques are being applied experimentally to a wide range of human disorders, including many types of cancer, neurological diseases such as Parkinson's Disease and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), spinal cord injuries, and diabetes. It is the goal of the Stem Cell Research Foundation (SCRF) to help realize these hopes by supporting innovative basic and clinical research in the emerging and critical area of stem cell therapy. Since 2000, SCRF has awarded more than $1.8 million in research grants. SCRF is currently supporting a total of 6 research grants. A complete list of all research grants is available in PDF format for viewing or printing.

The overall goal of research at CNMC is to solve the puzzles of disease that affect children, and effect positive outcomes through community health programs, clinical trials, and experimental therapeutics. The research groups at CNMC have increasingly become a focal point for multi-institutional projects in the metropolitan Washington DC area, with many collaborative projects with George Washington University Medical Center, Howard University Medical Center, University of Maryland, and Washington Hospital Center.

The Nature Conservancy's mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. We have developed a strategic, science-based planning process, called Conservation by Design, which helps us identify the highest-priority placeslandscapes and seascapes that, if conserved, promise to ensure biodiversity over the long term.

The National Geographic Society, IBM, geneticist Spencer Wells, and the Waitt Family Foundation have launched the Genographic Project, a five-year effort to understand the human journeywhere we came from and how we got to where we live today. This unprecedented effort will map humanity's genetic journey through the ages.

For 75 years, the Population Reference Bureau has been informing people about the population dimensions of important social, economic, and political issues. Our mission is to be the leader in providing timely and objective information on U.S. and international population trends and their implications. To increase the quality and relevance of our work and expand our reach and influence, we frequently collaborate with other organizations both in the United States and other countries. Our donors and partners government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, and universities include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations Population Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Save the Children, the University of Costa Rica, Thailand's Mahidol University, the Population Council, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The Dana Foundation is a private philanthropic organization with interests in science, health, and education. It was founded in 1950.

Founded in 1992, The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) is a not-for-profit research institute whose primary research interests are in structural, functional and comparative analysis of genomes and gene products from a wide variety of organisms including viruses, eubacteria (both pathogens and non-pathogens, archaea (the so-called third domain of life), and eukaryotes (plants, animals, fungi and protists such as the malarial parasite).

NSFCIPM fosters the development and implementation of pest management programs based on a high level of knowledge of pest biology coupled with choices of monitoring tools and control technology, resulting in economically sound, environmentally compatible, and sociologically responsible integrated crop production. NSFCIPM is a National Science Foundation founded, Industry / University Cooperative Research Center, which works to support and further Integrated Pest Management through the evaluation of emerging technologies, information management and dissemination, environmental stewardship, estimation of economic consequences, resistance management tools and systems, and integration of disciplinary expertise. Although NSFCIPM supports research is all areas of plant-related IPM. However, because of the interests of our present members we focus on the following key aspects of pest management: Genomics, Biotechnology, and Diagnostics; Pesticides, Alternatives and FQPA; Information Technology and Dissemination; Pest Risk Assessment and Modeling; and Commodity-Based Research.

It is the mission of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation to ensure the survival of sea turtles within the Wider Caribbean basin and Atlantic through research, education, training, advocacy and the protection of the natural habitats upon which they depend. CCC has chosen sea turtles as the focus of its conservation efforts in part because these ancient creatures are among the most important indicators of the health of the worlds marine and coastal ecosystems. CCC believes that whether sea turtles ultimately vanish from the planet or whether they remain a wild and thriving part of the natural world, will speak volumes about both the general health of the planet and the ability of humans to sustainably coexist with the diversity of life on Earth.

The National Institute of Mental Health is the lead Federal agency for research on mental and behavioral disorders. Our mission is to reduce the burden of mental illness and behavioral disorders through research on mind, brain, and behavior. The burden is enormous. The World Health Organizations Global Burden of Disease study reported that mental disorders comprise four of the top five sources of premature death and disability in 15-44 year olds in the Western world. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, autism, and other mental disorders are serious, often life-threatening illnesses for which we need reliable diagnostic tests, new treatments, and effective strategies for prevention. Our public health mission mandates a focus on those with the most serious mental illness.

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.

The Marine Biological Laboratory is an international center for research, education, and training in biology, biomedicine, and ecology. Learn about our facilities, our community, and why Lewis Thomas called us America's "National Biological Laboratory."

The San Diego Zoo's department of Conservation and Research for Endangered SpeciesCRESwas founded in 1975. Originally called the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, CRES is one of the largest zoo-based research centers in the world. Dedicated to preserving and protecting rare and endangered wildlife and their habitats, the research conducted at CRES is critical in the war against extinction. Through painstaking measures, CRES researchers gather scientific knowledge about the unique needs of wildlife, then translate this data into strategies to better manage the captive species while protecting populations in the wild. More than 75 highly trained CRES research professionals are dedicated to this missionto develop, gather, and increase knowledge vital for the establishment of self-sustaining populations of wildlife. Scientific research at CRES takes a variety of forms. From behavioral studies at the San Diego Zoo's SBC Giant Panda Research Station to banking endangered plant seeds at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park to high-tech genetic studies at the Frozen Zoo, CRES works to gain greater scientific insight and potentially solve the world's complicated conservation issues.

The Consortium for Conservation Medicine is a unique collaborative institution that strives to understand the link between anthropogenic environmental change, the health of all species, and the conservation ofbiodiversity.

The mission of the Center for Human Information Processing (CHIP), which is now being renamed Center for Brain and Cognition (CBC) is to bring together faculty, students, and researchers who share an interest in neural mechanisms underlying human perception, cognition and emotions (and the application of knowledge about cognitive mechanisms to addressing real-world human problems).

The CNBC is dedicated to the investigation of the neural mechanisms that give rise to human cognitive abilities, broadly construed. The outstanding faculty of the CNBC includes researchers investigating normal processes and disorders of cognition, and there is a great deal of interest in learning and development. We stress the convergent use of a wide range of methods to investigate topics ranging from sensory processing and motor control to language, semantic cognition, and reasoning. The CNBC is a joint project of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon, integrating the strengths of the University of Pittsburgh in basic and clinical neuroscience with the strengths of Carnegie Mellon in psychology, computer science and statistics.