Broad Institute

Background

The Broad Institute (sometimes referred to as the Eli and Edythe Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard) has its roots in collaborations starting in the 1990s between scientists working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. Generally, these collaborations were facilitated by two of the Broad Institute’s predecessor institutions: the Whitehead Institute (also known as the MIT Center for Genome Research) and the Harvard University Medical School-based Institute of Chemistry and Cell Biology. ³

From 2002 through 2003, these latter two institutes began discussions about forming a new joint institute to facilitate the research that had been the subject of their collaborations. In May 2004, with funding from Eli and Edythe Broad, the Broad Institute was formally launched and, in the years following continued to receive significant grants from the Broads, permanently endowing the institute. ³

In February 2009, the institute was established as an independent tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under the name “Broad Institute Inc.” with an address in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ⁴

Activities

The Broad Institute was founded in the wake of the completion of the Human Genome Project, in which many Broad Institute-affiliated researchers had participated and generally the organization’s work focuses on projects related to genomic medicine. For instance, the organization’s researchers use genomic studies to identify the root causes of diseases, use gene editing to create new disease models, and develop diagnostic tools and treatments. ⁵

Funding

In 2003, the Broad Institute received an initial grant from Eli and Edythe Broad of $100 million, which in the wake of its formal launch was later doubled to $200 million. Less than four years after its launch in September 2008, the Broads gave another $400 million to the organizations to permanently endow the institute. Later in 2013, the Broads committed an additional $100 million to the institute. ³

Partners

As of 2025, the partner institutions of the Broad Institute include MIT, Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Massachusetts General Hospital. ⁶

Leadership

Todd Golub is the director of the Broad Institute as well as a faculty member of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, and a member of the board of trustees of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he was the leader of cancer genomics at the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research, an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a member of the scientific advisory boards of organizations including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, and the National Cancer Institute. ⁷

Eric Lander is the founding director and a “core institute member” of the Broad Institute. Previously, he was a principal leader of the international Human Genome Project, co-chair of President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, President Joe Biden’s science advisor, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the founder of Science for America. ⁸

Catherine Breen is the chief of staff and executive director of strategic initiatives at the Broad Institute. Previously, she was the managing director of the Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning at Harvard University, chief operating officer for Ariadne Labs, senior director of the office for sponsored programs at Harvard, interim dean for administration in the Harvard faculty of Arts and Sciences, chief of staff to the executive vice president of Harvard, and administrative director for the Harvard Chan School’s PEPFAR program. ⁹

Michael Christiano is the chief business officer of the Broad Institute. Previously, he was the founding management team member and chief business officer of Tmunity Therapeutics, vice president and head of transactions in global business development and licensing at Novartis AG, and co-founder of Karyopharm Therapeutics. ¹⁰

Priya McCue is the chief development officer of the Broad Institute. Previously, she was the chief development officer of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a member of the development team at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. ¹¹

Dan Shore is the chief operating officer of the Broad Institute. Previously, he was the integration lead at Brandwatch, SVP and CFO of Crimson Hexagon, CFO of Onshape, CFO of Harvard University, director of the Office of Budgets and Financial Planning at Harvard, a consultant at McKinsey and Company, and a corporate attorney at Nutter, McClennen, and Fish. ¹²

Eric Schmidt, an American businessman and philanthropist with an interest in left-of-center public policy advocacy, is the chair of the Broad Institute’s board of directors as well a board member of the Mayo Clinic, co-founder of Schmidt Futures, and the host of the Reimagine with Eric Schmidt podcast. Previously, he was the executive chairman of Google and later worked in a similar position with its parent company Alphabet. ²