CZI, State and City Leaders Launch Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago

CHICAGO (October 5, 2023) — Today, leadership from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and representatives from the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, launched the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago. Speakers included JB Pritzker, Governor of Illinois; CZI Co-Founder and Co-CEO Priscilla Chan; Stephen Quake, CZI Head of Science; and Shana O. Kelley, President of the CZ Biohub Chicago.

The CZ Biohub Chicago is a new biomedical research center that brings together leading Chicagoland scientific and technology institutions with the goal of solving grand scientific challenges on a 10- to 15-year time horizon. With its location in Chicago’s Fulton Market, the CZ Biohub Chicago will be centrally located to its partner universities and offer approximately 28,200 square feet at 400 N. Aberdeen. This state-of-the-art lab and administrative facility will be built from the ground up, with specialized rooms, engineering equipment, and a space to host scientific presentations.

The CZ Biohub Chicago will spur a unique collaboration between the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Their focus will be on engineering technologies to make precise, molecular-level measurements of biological processes within human tissues, with the ultimate goal of understanding and treating the inflammatory states that underlie many diseases. 

50% of all deaths can be attributed to inflammation-related diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic kidney disease, and autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions. Understanding inflammation requires the ability to measure a myriad of interactions at the molecular and cellular level in 3D living tissue, a capability that does not currently exist.

(from left) CZI Co-Founder and Co-CEO Priscilla Chan, CZ Biohub Chicago President Shana Kelley, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, and CZI Head of Science Steve Quake celebrate the opening of CZ Biohub Chicago.

The CZ Biohub Chicago is the first institution to expand the CZ Biohub Network, and will build on the successfulcollaborativemodel of the first Chan Zuckerberg Biohub in San Francisco. Together, members of the CZ Biohub Network will partner to develop science and technologies that help us understand how cells and tissues function and increase our understanding of human health and disease.

CZI Co-Founder and Co-CEO Priscilla Chan said: “I’m energized being here in Chicago and hearing directly from researchers about the transformative technology they’re building to measure human biology and bring us closer to understanding and preventing disease. The Chicago Biohub, its associated institutions, and the entire Biohub Network represent the future of what is possible in science and technology development.”

JB Pritzker, Governor of Illinois, said: “The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has recognized what we’ve been promoting and demonstrating to investors and businesses across the globe — when it comes to cutting-edge development and research, there’s no better place to build a top-tier workforce and develop cutting-edge technologies than Illinois and Chicago. The CZ Biohub Chicago will be an industry-leading scientific research center in the heart of Fulton Market with the support of our local university and workforce talent, and I cannot wait to see what sort of groundbreaking advances in biomedical research will result from this endeavor.”

CZ Biohub Chicago President Shana O. Kelley said: “Today is a huge milestone for the CZ Biohub Chicago. We’re now one step closer to starting our labs and diving into the research we’ve been preparing for — to ultimately create new technologies to understand inflammation in the growing biotech industry right here in Chicago. I’m looking forward to continuing to partner with these powerful research institutions — the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign— to tackle the ambitious scientific challenges we’re exploring together.”

CZI Head of Science Stephen Quake said: “I’m grateful to Governor Pritzker for joining us today in celebration of the Chicago Biohub launch. It will take the support of leaders across local governments, university administrators, scientific experts, and many others to help us reach our collective goals in biomedicine and collaborative, cross-disciplinary research.”

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About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our local communities. Our mission is to build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.

About the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network is a group of nonprofit research institutes that bring together scientists, engineers, and physicians with the goal of pursuing grand scientific challenges on 10- to 15-year time horizons. These institutes partner with Chan Zuckerberg Science in its goal to understand the mysteries of the cell and how cells interact within systems. This collaboration will bring us closer to our mission to cure, prevent, or manage all disease by the end of the century. To learn more, visit www.czbiohub.org.