Stowers Institute For Medical Research Reviews in Kansas City, MO Area

I have been working at Stowers Institute For Medical Research full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – - Extremely good support for research. Any experiment you want to do, they will find a way for you to do it. The core facilities are incredible. All equipment from pipettes to desktop computers to confocal microscopes is top of the line and very well maintained.
- Beautiful facility, very good cafe, gym, outdoor areas, library. Fitness classes, English lessons, professional development (training for presentations, learning about alternative careers, etc). Free espresso, lattes, fancy loose leaf tea 24 hours a day! Easy free parking.
- Good benefits, health, dental, retirement. Employees get an additional 15% on top of salary added to a retirement account each year.
-Collegial atmosphere. Sense of collaboration, no great need to sheild your work for fear of colleagues stealing results.

Cons – There's only one con which is difficulty of maintaining work/life balance for students and postodocs. The students in my lab work literally 12-14 hours/day, every day, which at $24k for KU students comes out to much less than minimum wage. This is not forced, it's just the atmosphere of the lab - everyone wants to get ahead and not fall behind. The Pricipal Investigators are the best in their fields, they have acheived a lot and they expect a lot. This is fairly standard at a high level research institute and I think it is somewhat better than average at Stowers, where the Institue at least allows 3 months paid maternity leave even to students, and provides a room for pumping/breastfeeding and a room with tv and games where kids can hang out if you have to bring them in on the weekend. Things are a lot easier for Institute employees, such as core group members and technicians. Those generally work a 40 hour week and no weekends.

Advice to Senior Management – The management is really good about listening to requests directly.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Stowers Institute For Medical Research full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – good and smart colleagues, great work environment, good funding for research, core facilities very helpful

Cons – post-docs not eligible for independent funding, no positions similar to a RAP (Research Assistant Professor) - a position usually available in universities.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Stowers Institute For Medical Research full-time for less than a year

Pros – Core facility is really supportive so that you can focus on more difficult experiments. Lab managements are good. People are super easy to collaborate.

Cons – Not a very interesting place. Not many other medical research institutes or universities nearby.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Stowers Institute For Medical Research

Pros – This is really a great place to work. Everyone is so respectful and professional and I love that we have a cafe and gym on site.

Cons – Some of the day to day work can be very routine and it is quite easy to get bored or feel like a robot, but then again there is always something new to learn.

Advice to Senior Management – This is really a great place to come to work and the majority of the team members are really proud of what we accomplish!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Stowers Institute For Medical Research

Pros – Awesome benefits and nice facilities

Cons – No upward mobility, promotions etc seemed to be random in the group I was in.

Advice to Senior Management – Take a hard look at the leadership of some core groups and see if in fact the leaders are actually leading

I have been working at Stowers Institute For Medical Research

Pros – Proud to work at a great place that supports smart people and has a humanitarian mission. Probably wonderful for driven researchers, with great support and wonderful benefits. Opportunities for growth abound.

Cons – Some non-research jobs specialized, with less opportunity for advancement. Work environment varies greatly among labs/departments.

Advice to Senior Management – Current management is doing well.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend