The Basel Institute for Immunology (BII) was founded in 1969 as a basic research institute in

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

located at 487 Grenzacherstrasse,

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Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

on the

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River down the street from the main

Hoffmann-La Roche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX ...

campus near the Swiss-German border. The institute opened its doors in 1971.

Description

It was a unique concept in the history of mechanisms for funding basic science and the relationship between basic science and industry. Through the influence of

Paul Sacher Paul Sacher (28 April 190626 May 1999) was a Swiss conductor, patron and billionaire businessperson. At the time of his death Sacher was majority shareholder of pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche and was considered the third richest person i ...

, Swiss conductor and patron of the arts and sciences, drug company

Hoffmann-LaRoche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX ...

committed unrestricted support of $24 million per year and freedom of design of the institute to its founding director Niels K. Jerne. Jerne retired in 1980 and was succeeded by Fritz Melchers, who generally maintained Jerne's themes and vision.Closing of Basel institute scatters immunologists. Science 293, 238-239, 2001
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Research groups

The institute was constructed to consist of about 50 scientists in interactive research groups of 3 to 5 researchers supported by technical staff with no titles other than “member” with renewable contracts of 2 to 5 years. Interaction was facilitated by laboratories split into two floors per lab connected by a spiral staircase surrounding a central gathering room. Famously, Charley Steinberg mostly presided over casual meetings in the cafeteria. Scientists from beginning postdoctoral to senior professor were provided complete freedom of research design without the pressures of individual fund raising, proposal writing, politicking and pressure to fit research to popular demands and funding source. The institute's administrative structure was minimal. Continuous visits by distinguished visiting scientists from around the world for periods of a day to months enriched the environment.

Culture and Achievements

Establishment of the BII coincided with a convergence of a critical mass of young and energetic scientists from around the world in Basel to staff three startup research ventures to exploit the newly breaking technologies related to molecular biology, gene cloning and development of mouse models. In addition to BII, these were the Friedrich Miescher Institute (FMI) sponsored by Ciba-Geigy (now

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...

) and the Biozentrum sponsored by the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

. In the 1970s it was estimated that 17 different languages were spoken at the institute united by English, the common language of science. Social gatherings between the international staff of the three institutes and heated discussions concerning lifestyles, the arts and in particular science in the pubs of Basel were common in the period. The BII was known as a training ground for independent thinking and career development rather than a place to be for an entire career. While maintaining a relatively constant core of 50 scientists over its 30-year history, the average age of which was at any one time 35 years, the BII gave rise to over 500 scientists who worked and trained there who with their scientific progeny represent the core of the field of immunology worldwide. 0 Years Basel Institute for Immunology, (History, Milestones, Press Articles, Annual Reports, Publications, List of Institute Members), Souvenir CD/DVD 2001/ref> Institute scientists were awarded 27 prestigious international awards in immunology that include three

Nobel Prizes The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfre ...

, Georges J.F. Köhler, Niels K. Jerne, and

Susumu Tonegawa is a Japanese scientist who was the sole recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1987 for his discovery of V(D)J recombination, the Genetics, genetic mechanism which produces antibody diversity. Although he won the Nobel Prize ...

Dissolution

In 2000, the BII was dissolved by

to be succeeded at the Hoffmann-LaRoche campus by a more traditional mission- and profit-oriented

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

(R&D) division of the company, the Roche Center for Medical Genomics.Roche brings down curtain on Swiss immunology lab. Nature 405, 605, 2000
/ref> In 2010, the original site of the Basel Institute for Immunology, Grenzacherstrasse 487 in Basel was listed as the home of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd.

References

External links

Book Review: The History of the Basel Institute for Immunology, Frontiers in Immunology
A review of a new book on the founding, history, and culture of the Institute.
Festschrift in honor of Ivan Lefkovits. Scandinavian Journal of Immunology 62 (Suppl. 1), 1-22, 2005
--contains some experiences of former BII members, photos] {{DEFAULTSORT:Basel Institute For Immunology Organisations based in Basel Immunology organizations Medical research institutes in Switzerland Organizations established in 1969 1969 establishments in Switzerland