Recently, I participated in a panel discussion on alternative careers at HHMI's Janelia Farms campus in Ashburn, Virginia. Before going to the event, I knew nothing about the campus. (For more information on Janelia Farms, see "Betting the Farm" by Beryl Benderly and Jim Kling's "Captain of the Farm Team.") It turned out to be a really neat facility with some interesting features intended to foster interaction and collaboration. The facility is relatively new, having opened just two years ago and is still being staffed. Among the interesting things I learned:
- Meals and snacks (and the pub!) are subsidized to encourage researchers to leave their labs and eat with each other and with visitors. In the cafeteria, most tables seat 6-8 people to encourage conversation.
- Housing for scientists is located on campus. Apparently, there is so much demand for the on-campus housing that on campus housing is limited to a year so that others can have a turn.
- Labs are limited to 7 individuals, but collaboration is encouraged among groups.
- There is an incredible amount of glass in the building. Some of it lets you see out to the surrounding farmland and the nearby pond; the rest olets you see into the labs, creating a sort of fishbowl effect. The labs themselves are large, open spaces with several groups sharing one (very large) room.
- In order to encourage creativity, lab heads are not given tenure. After 6 years, and every 5 years thereafter, they are subject to a review. Researchers who are not renewed are given HHMI funding to take to another institution.
Sound like a place you'd be interested in working? Or do you prefer to work in a more traditional research environment? If it sounds appealing, Janelia Farms still has many open positions ranging from lab techs to to postdocs PIs.
