170 years ago, the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Company built a seawall along the shore of the inner harbor to ensure long-term economic and environmental viability. That basic infrastructure underpinned Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s (CSHL) global success. Since 1890, biology and genetics research and education have thrived on these shores. A hopeful future depends on continued investments in scientific advancement, including a complete rebuild of the seawall.
With review and permission from the New York State (NYS) Department of Parks and Recreation, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYS Historic Preservation Office, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Village of Laurel Hollow, the seawall restoration project is under way. Find out more here.
The Laboratory is designated one of this country’s few basic cancer research centers supported by consecutive federal grant funds from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Join me in congratulating our Cancer Center Director, David Tuveson, on successfully renewing the grant for this foundational pillar of the institution. In neuroscience, CSHL achieved a major milestone with discoveries that were part of the U.S. government’s $100 million BRAIN Initiative. Reminiscent of the game-changing Human Genome Project, the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) took a census of every cell in the brain to figure out how cells connect to each other. Read about the current and former CSHL faculty who contributed to this effort.
Thanks to philanthropic partners, we can make unique, high-risk investments that have the potential to advance entire research and clinical fields. I call your attention to a very special story on the Sarcoma Initiative. It’s about the Laboratory bringing together friends, families, and communities to pool financial and intellectual resources, solve biological mysteries, and save lives.
The School of Biological Sciences has a record of training outstanding scientists. In 2020 and 2021 we graduated fourteen new Ph.D.’s. Each student was supported by an endowment and we appreciate the donors who sponsor the training of the next generation of scientific leaders. There’s no better investment in the future.
I hope you enjoy reading about the programs and accomplishments that define the modern-day CSHL.
— Bruce Stillman, Ph.D.
“President’s message”
Harbor Transcript, Volume 41, Issue 2, 2021