Together with UW–Madison, we recruit top scientific talent, build powerful research collaborations and create shared resources to keep Wisconsin science at the leading edge.

As an independent institute, Morgridge can move quickly to follow interesting and important biological questions, wherever they may lead.Yet we have the best of two worlds. We are deeply engaged with one of the world’s preeminent public research universities and work strategically with the biomedical research community at UW–Madison.

With great foresight, our benefactors John and Tashia Morgridge expressly built into our endowment a component that allows us to invest in new initiatives. We evaluate and choose new ideas that reflect shared priorities with the university.This effort has led to thriving campus partnerships in metabolism research, bioimaging, mass spectrometry, research computing, stem cell science and science communication, among others.

We also exist in a unique culture. The Wisconsin way of doing things is different from many other places, where policy and direction are often determined top-down. People here build coalitions to get new ideas off the ground, which results in strong, grassroots support.

We think this approach unleashes the best ideas to advance human health.

By the Numbers

50+

New research ventures launched between Morgridge postdocs and UW–Madison investigators since 2015

500+

Number of campus scientists who belong to the Morgridge Metabolism Initiative, a collaborative hub for metabolism researchers since 2015

82

Number of academic departments and programs that have employed high-throughput computing in their research since 2017

Partnership Stories

Mass spec fueling new explorations at the Carbone Cancer Center

Mass spec fueling new explorations at the Carbone Cancer Center

Every cell has about 20,000 proteins, several hundred metabolites, and couple of thousand lipids. When those things get perturbed, bad things can happen. But measuring those changes may offer essential clues for fighting cancer.

From ‘blobology’ to atomic precision: Wisconsin’s leadership on cryo-EM imaging

From ‘blobology’ to atomic precision: Wisconsin’s leadership on cryo-EM imaging

Wisconsin is now an established national leader in cryo-electron microscopy, or cryo-EM, thanks to a decade-long strategic push from the UW–Madison biochemistry department and the Morgridge Institute.

High-throughput computing: Fostering data science without limits

High-throughput computing: Fostering data science without limits

HTCondor is gaining adherents across UW because scientists are learning that it is more than someone asking, “What technology do you need?” Research computing is a collaboration, and the people HTC brings to the equation are more important than the technology.

The Morgridge Metabolism Initiative: A blueprint for collaboration

The Morgridge Metabolism Initiative: A blueprint for collaboration

The Morgridge Metabolism Initiative helps hundreds of campus scientists learn from each other and push the boundaries of research that is central to human health questions such as aging, diabetes and cancer.

Developing the science of science communication

Developing the science of science communication

The Morgridge Institute and UW–Madison Life Sciences Communication will join forces to investigate new ways to best communicate complex scientific topics to society.

Training the next generation of science leaders at Morgridge

Training the next generation of science leaders at Morgridge

Scientific training is much more than learning experimental methods or interpreting data. Trainees must practice management, leadership, collaboration, and communication skills to be successful and the Morgridge Institute is committed to fostering growth of “whole scientists" who are prepared to lead.

UW Madison Crest

A Unique Model for Training the Next Generation

The Morgridge Postdoctoral Fellowship program brings Morgridge Institute investigators and UW–Madison faculty members together as co-advisors of trainees pursuing new lines of interdisciplinary inquiry. Since its inception in 2015, the program has:

  • Created more than 50 new linkages between investigators who had not worked together before
  • Connected Morgridge to more than 20 departments throughout the university in seven schools and colleges
  • Produced over 80 publications

Learn more about our partnership with UW