KSHB 41 News anchor Taylor Hemness reports on stories across Kansas, including a focus on consumer issues. You can contact Taylor by email.
Kansas City, Missouri, is home to one of the finest medical research institutes in the country, and it’s celebrating a big milestone this week.
The Stowers Institute is marking 25 years since the doors first opened.
Founded by Jim and Virginia Stowers, the institute is home to dozens of researchers.
They spend their time, which often includes years-long experiments and studies, trying to answer questions that could lead to major medical breakthroughs in the near and distant future.
I spoke with Dr. Alejandro Sanchez Alvarado, Stowers’ president and chief scientific officer. We talked about the importance of scientific funding, and how it really is about paying for possibilities.
"Ozempic--all that came from studying the saliva of a lizard,” Sanchez Alvarado said. “You would have never made the connection. Since we don't really know where the big next discoveries are going to come, it's really hard for us to articulate that these things are important.”
“But it's almost like, trying to do something really difficult--the more you do it, the higher your chances of success," he added.
He told me that 25 years is proof that the institute is on very solid ground.
Moving forward, he'd love to see Kansas City, the country, and the world have a better understanding of the work done inside.
"I think if we can, as you said, put all this process in a bottle, and share with others so they see what our scientists are doing, and why, and how, it would really inspire others to realize the importance of the work that is being done in this building."
Stowers is hosting a sold-out symposium on Friday, Nov. 14, with speakers and presentations covering all kinds of biomedical science.
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