Medical institute opens amid hopes of Kansas rebirth

[摘要] The people of Kansas City, Missouri, are hoping that the official opening this month of the $200 million Stowers Institute for Medical Research will provide a springboard that will eventually transform the midwestern city into one of the nation's top life-science centres. The institute - built by a married couple of wealthy cancer survivors who also donated its initial endowment of $515 million, which could rise to $2 billion - reflects the growing influence of large-scale philanthropy on biomedical research in the United States. The institute will not on its own revitalize Kansas City's research climate, as it will initially hire only four to six investigators a year, but it has already leveraged other activity aimed at doing just that. Jim and Virginia Stowers, who made their fortune in the mutual-funds business in the city, say they ignored advice to spend their fortune on an institute in a more established centre of biomedical research on America's east or west coasts.