455 Main Street, Cambridge

The Whitehead Institute, founded in 1982, was the first of a cluster of nonprofit life sciences research institutes located along Main Street in Cambridge, all affiliated with (but operating independently from) big local universities such as MIT and Harvard. It’s most famous as the leading contributor to the Human Genome Project; researchers at the Whitehead sequenced about one-third of the DNA included in the “rough draft” of the genome finished in 2000. Today the Whitehead continues to be a leading generator of fundamental research publications and advances in molecular biology and genetics. It’s especially well known for its Fellows Program, which boosts the careers of promising young investigators.

Guest speaker

Ruth Lehmann, President and Director, Whitehead Institute; Professor, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology