The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a biomedical research organization that conducts basic research on genes and proteins that control fundamental processes in living cells to analyze diseases and find keys to their causes, treatment, and prevention. It is located in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

adjacent to the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

main campus. The Institute has spent over 1 billion $US on research.

Structure

The Institute was incorporated with an initial donation of $500 million in 1994 by

James E. Stowers James E. "Jim" Stowers, Jr. (January 10, 1924 – March 17, 2014) was an American businessman who was the founder of American Century Investments and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. Biography Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, t ...

founder of

American Century Investments American Century Investments is a privately controlled and independent investment management firm. Operations The Building has approximately 1,300 employees and its headquarters are located at 4500 Main in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Coun ...

and his wife Virginia Stowers, both cancer survivors. Over the next decade, the couple endowed the institute with gifts totaling almost $2 billion. The Institute opened its doors in November 2000 on the former site of Menorah Hospital. In 2008, there were 25 independent research programs plus core facilities in

bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data, in particular when the data sets are large and complex. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combi ...

proteomics Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replication of DNA. In ...

, microarray,

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

flow cytometry Flow cytometry (FC) is a technique used to detect and measure physical and chemical characteristics of a population of cells or particles. In this process, a sample containing cells or particles is suspended in a fluid and injected into the flo ...

, and

microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...

. In total, the organization employs more than 550 scientists, research associates, technicians and support staff, including more than 140 postdoctoral research associates and graduate students. The Institute is recognized by the IRS as a medical research organization. It is a Missouri not-for-profit corporation, and is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

References

External links

Stowers Institute
{{authority control Medical research institutes in the United States Biomedical research foundations Research institutes in Missouri 1994 establishments in Missouri Organizations based in Kansas City, Missouri Medical and health foundations in the United States