It’s All About the Brain at Janelia Campus

It’s All About the Brain at Janelia Campus

By Joe Motheral

The Janelia campus of the nationally renowned Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is located along the Potomac River near Ashburn. Some 400 scientists utilize a state-of-the-art facility that includes laboratories, equipment and even living quarters, all the better to study the human brain.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute near Ashburn.

It opened in 2006 after acquiring land originally owned and occupied by the late artist, Vinton Lidell Pickens, who lived there until her death in 1993 in the Normandy-style house on the campus. She’d been active in Loudoun County as an original member and chairman of the planning commission and was mainly responsible for the highway signage ordinance limiting billboards on county roads.

The new building was designed by renowned architect Rafael Viñoly and Robert H. McGhee, HHMI’s architect and senior facilities officer. It was constructed along the upper bank of the Potomac, and to honor her memory, HHMI named the campus after a mix of Mrs. Pickens’ two daughters’ names: Jane and Cornelia.

For decades, HHMI has employed scientists at host institutions across the U.S. to pursue basic research questions, a model that has provided key discoveries and new lines of research.

According the Janelia website, “In 2017, we moved to a 15-year research model. We plan to develop a given research area for roughly 15 years to gain traction and attract outside interest, at which point we’ll cycle to a new area of focus. This approach enables Janelia to stay at the frontier of science, advancing one to three research areas at any point in time.

“To date, Janelia scientists have made a number of biological advances, including foundational analysis of the complex neural connections and computations that underlie behavior. And we shared the tools necessary to make these advances with the research community.”

HHMI scientist Dr. Eric Betzig won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his role in developing super resolution microscopy.

“That’s basically a way to use light microscopy to see something smaller than a wavelength of light, which is otherwise impossible,” according to HHMI spokesman Michael Perham. He added that other scientists have been recognized because, “They study questions in neuroscience, advanced microscopy, and cell biology.”

The public has been able to attend lectures in a program called “Dialogues of Discovery.” HHMI scientists and experts from around the world speak about developments in their various fields. Since the pandemic, HHMI has resorted to Zoom sessions but hope to open their doors again later this year.

The HHMI building is truly an architectural masterpiece. It faces the Potomac with a glass wall overlooking a pond that offers the feeling of being out in the open while walking the terrace level. Lunch in the large open terrace dining room is served daily at noon, and scientists engaged in various areas of study around the building often sit together to discuss their respective projects.

“It’s an exciting time for the Janelia research campus,” said Senior Director of Administrative Operations, Cory Schreckengost. “We have very recently expanded and enhanced our campus through several infrastructure investments.

“We’re in the process of expanding our research programming into 4-Dimensional cellular physiology, and forward-looking strategic objectives include an even stronger emphasis on open science and community engagement.”

With no billboards in sight.

To access the Dialogues site, go to https://www.janelia.org/you-janelia/dialogues-discovery.