Work Environment
The Tufts University Health Sciences campus is a model of city
style, with the entire physical plant sited within a few blocks
radius. The jewel of this complex is the new Jaharis
Building, a $65 million, 9-story biomedical center housing
180,000 square feet of state-of-the-art research space. A series
of bridges and tunnels connects all buildings, facilitating
transfer of people and research materials, even in inclement
weather. The campus is located within the historic garment district
of Boston, now the showcase for a colorful cultural amalgam.
The administrative offices for the Cell,
Molecular, and Developmental Biology Program are located
within this complex, and nearly all of the program labs are
grouped here. The Tufts Health
Sciences Library, located directly across the street, provides
a modern and comprehensive collection of reference literature,
and current and archived journals. Tufts Medical Center, the principal teaching hospital
of Tufts University School
of Medicine, is also integrated into the campus.
Biomedical research is an important component
of the Tufts mission and the University is recognized nationwide
for scientific excellence in this area. Tufts was recently cited
in the "Top 10" US medical facilities for the impact
of the institutional research in clinical medicine. In 1995,
Tufts University received a “Research One” rating
from the Carnegie Foundation. This rating system categorizes
universities according to size, research funding, and number
of doctoral degrees awarded. Only 88 institutions in the country
(including just 29 private institutions) are ranked at this
level.
The boundaries between administrative entities
on the Health Sciences Campus are completely transparent in
day to day practice. Greater emphasis is placed on unified research
programs that cross administrative lines, for example, in AIDS,
cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, molecular cardiology, nutrition
and aging, and vision. Senior administrators continually work
to foster this interactive and collaborative environment. A
unique and distinctive aspect of the Tufts Health Sciences campus
is the close interaction between scientists in the basic departments,
and scientists and physician-scientists within the clinical
departments. Physical proximity within the Health Sciences campus
combined with common service in the graduate and medical school
programs stimulates these two groups of scientists to interact
regularly and productively.
