History of the Department
Revised: 26 Jan 01

The Department of Molecular Biology, whose members are engaged in full time basic scientific research, began as a unique and highly successful model of an academic-industrial partnership. The Department was founded in 1981 when Hoechst AG (now Aventis), a major German chemical and pharmaceutical company, awarded an historic $70 + million grant to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to create a new Molecular Biology Department. The Department was founded and is still headed by Professor Howard M. Goodman, who conceived the idea of Hoechst funding an academic department at a major American university.

In keeping with the tradition of a strong commitment to basic research at the hospital, the establishment of the Department of Molecular Biology broadened the MGH research community to include a group of distinguished scientists engaged in basic research not related directly to specific problems in applied medical science. The presence of two modern Molecular Biology greenhouses for state-of-the-art research in plant molecular genetics, for example, serves as a constant reminder of MGH's commitment to basic science.

During its twenty-year history, the Hoechst agreement evolved from an all-inclusive funding model, with no outside agency funding permitted, to a general sponsorship agreement with all outside funding sources accepted. Today, the Department garners the great majority of its support from the federal government and private foundations. Aventis continues to sponsor research programs in various laboratories, but only on an ad hoc basis.

From the point of view of Hoechst/Aventis, the Department of Molecular Biology offered an excellent opportunity for company scientists to observe first-hand how recent technological developments in recombinant DNA research might be applied to the development of new pharmaceutical and agricultural products.

From the perspective of the faculty, students and staff, the Department affords them a unique opportunity to pursue basic research interests in a stable and strongly supportive academic research community in an outstanding laboratory facility.