Janelia Research Campus facts for kids
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| Established | September 6, 2006 |
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| Research type | neurobiology |
| Budget | $300 million |
| Director | Ronald Vale |
| Staff | 424 |
| Location | Ashburn, Virginia |
| Campus | 689 acres (2.79 km2) |
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Operating agency
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Howard Hughes Medical Institute |
| Eric Betzig | |
The Janelia Research Campus is a special science center. It belongs to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). It opened in October 2006. You can find it in Loudoun County, Virginia, near Ashburn.
Janelia is famous for its amazing science and cool, modern buildings. The current leader of the campus is Ronald Vale. He is also a vice-president at HHMI. He took over from Gerald M. Rubin in 2020. Until 2014, it was called "Janelia Farm Research Campus."
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What Janelia Researches
Most HHMI money helps scientists at their own universities. But some big science problems need a different approach. Janelia was built to solve these tough problems. It focuses on neurobiology, which is the study of the nervous system.
As of 2011, Janelia had 424 employees. There was even room for 150 more! They work to understand how our brains process information. This includes studying neuronal circuits, which are like tiny electrical pathways in the brain. They also create new ways to see inside cells using advanced imaging technologies. They develop computer methods to analyze these images. In 2017, they started a new area of study. It's called mechanistic cognitive neuroscience. This looks at how the brain works at a very detailed level.
Janelia also supports big team projects. These projects help scientists everywhere. For example, they are creating detailed maps of the Drosophila (fruit fly) brain. They also map the mouse brain. Another project improves special glowing sensors. These sensors, like fluorescent calcium sensors, help scientists see brain activity. One big success was the first full image of a fruit fly brain. It showed every single neuron!
The center was designed to be very open and collaborative. It's like famous places such as AT&T Bell Laboratories. Scientists at Janelia get six-year contracts. They are fully funded by Janelia itself. This means they don't need to apply for traditional research grants. This lets them focus only on their research.
Gerald M. Rubin was the first director of Janelia. He helped build it from an idea to a working campus. Ronald Vale became the director in early 2020. There are about fifty research labs at Janelia. Top scientists lead these labs. Some famous names include Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Eric Betzig, and Karel Svoboda.
The Campus Itself
The original Janelia Farm house is very old and important. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. HHMI bought the property in 2000. The main campus is 281 acres. It has a huge, curved building called the Landscape Building. It's 900 feet long!
The building was designed by Rafael Viñoly. It's built into a hill. It's the main place for research. There's also a 96-room hotel for visitors. It overlooks a pond. A tunnel connects it to the Landscape Building. Selden Island, a 408-acre island in the Potomac River, was added in 2004. Staff love to go there for jogging and fun.
Many employees live right on campus. There are three apartment buildings with 240 units. There are also 34 townhouses and 21 studio apartments. This provides homes for over a quarter of the staff. Other employees travel from Arlington on a special HHMI bus. The campus has great fitness facilities. These include a yoga studio, a climbing gym, tennis courts, and a soccer field.
The campus also has beautiful outdoor spaces. Over four acres of green roofs help the buildings blend into nature. Landscape architects have worked to add water features, paths, and artwork. They also added many plants to make the campus even more beautiful.
Research Facilities
Super Computers
Modern brain science needs a lot of computer power. Some special microscopes create huge amounts of data. They can make over 5 gigabytes of data every second! Studying brain connections using electron microscopes also needs massive computing. For example, one dataset of a fruit fly brain is 400 terabytes! Analyzing it took nearly 7000 hours of computer time.
Janelia has amazing computer tools for its scientists. They have a powerful computer cluster with 7000 cores. This is like having 7000 mini-computers working together. They also have 5 petabytes of storage. This is enough space for millions of movies! All data is also backed up every night at a different location.
Animal Care
Janelia has a special facility called a vivarium. It's a safe and clean home for laboratory animals. These include zebrafish, mice, and rats. Staff help with their daily care, breeding, and surgeries. Robots even help with some tasks! Several "fly flipping" robots move Drosophila (fruit flies) to fresh food. Two robot arms help clean mouse cages. One robot puts dirty cages into a special cleaning machine. The other robot takes out the clean cages and stacks them.
Advanced Imaging Center
Scientists from all over the world can visit Janelia. They can apply to use the special microscopes developed at Janelia. This center helps researchers do experiments they couldn't do anywhere else.
Community Involvement
HHMI works with the Loudoun Academy of Science. Together, they give about $1 million each year. This money supports science education in Loudoun County schools. Janelia also holds public lectures every three months. These talks help share science with everyone in the community.
See also
