The international reputation of investigators in the Department of Biology has attracted the support of personal philanthropy. Also, drawn by earlier groundbreaking work on vitamin A in the School of Public Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made its third grant to Hopkins in as many years. Medical research, which has positioned Hopkins as the primary recipient of research funds from the National Institutes of Health for more than a decade, has continued to grow. They are learning how human beings organize and process tactile and visual information both perceptually and physiologically. A related goal, the discovery of genes that may be neuroprotective, is also being pursued.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.
Through an integrated approach of sharing research subjects, tissue samples, resources, technical expertise, and data analysis strategies, their studies aim to use the power of molecular biology to develop and test new molecular markers for the early detection of non-small cell lung cancer and to facilitate the rapid transfer of novel technologies from the laboratory into the clinical arena. The School's unrestricted endowment has also been substantially increased during the campaign, and both the department and the directorship have been endowed in the Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. Other important initiatives include the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health and new or expanded programs in quantitative genetics, infectious diseases, nutrition, cancer prevention, global environmental health, and children's health worldwide. Renovations, including those to Krieger, Maryland, and Barton Halls, have vastly improved laboratory space and are key to teaching and research. Greatly enhanced opportunities for creative expression, physical fitness, and spiritual growth will be provided by the student arts and recreation centers, to open in 2001, and the Bunting Meyerhoff Interfaith and Community Service Center , dedicated in 1999.