Three local research institutions have been named among the best in the U.S., according to a new report, with one landing among the top three nationwide.
The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia ranks No. 3 in the nation, trailed by Fox Chase Cancer Center at No. 32 and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia at No. 38. They are the only Pennsylvania organizations on the new research institutions rankings. Topping the list is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, followed by Boston Children's Hospital.
The report was released last week by Heartland Forward, a nonprofit that works to improve economic performance in a 20-state center region of the U.S. Its research institutions category includes hospitals, private research institutions and government-owned and contractor-operated labs, plus government-owned and government-operated labs.
Home to dozens of scientists, the Wistar Institute is focused on early stage discoveries in cancer, immunology and infectious disease, including through vaccine and immunotherapies. Located in University City, it was founded in 1892 as the nation's first institution devoted to biomedical research.
In August, Wistar and four other institutions launched a biomedical technician training program in an effort to support the region's growing life sciences sector. It also announced in June that it is seeking to raise $75 million over the next five years to drive breakthroughs in biomedical science and technology and educate and train the next generation of life sciences innovators.
CHOP, meanwhile, is currently undertaking $3.5 billion in capital projects to expand its research and health care. Earlier this month it debuted an $85 million logistics center in Millbourne to support that growth.
In addition to the research institutions, the report also recognized colleges and universities for supporting technology transfer, otherwise known as technology commercialization. The University of Pennsylvania is ranked among the top 25 tech transfer universities in the country, coming in at No. 6. Two other local schools are among the top 100: Drexel University at No. 55 and Temple University at No. 94. Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh tops that list.
Heartland Forward said Penn, Carnegie Mellon and Pitt "excel in conducting and commercializing research through formal tech transfer, and they contribute to local economic growth by attracting firms that want to collaborate with top-tier researchers as they develop their technologies."
The report also gave a nod to Drexel's co-op program that "focuses on informal tech transfer that happens through students bringing their freshly acquired skills and knowledge to the workplace."
The new report was built upon a previous report released by the nonprofit earlier this year, focused on university tech transfer efforts. That report placed the University of Minnesota as first among states in the Heartland region and fifth among U.S. public universities.
