Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed), located in San Antonio, Texas, is an independent, non-profit biomedical research institution, specializing in genetics and in virology and immunology. Texas Biomed is funded by government and corporate grants and contracts, and donations from the public. History Texas Biomed was founded in 1941 by Tom Slick as the Foundation of Applied Research. Its initial mission was to provide research and advanced education in agriculture, natural sciences and medicine. It became the Southwest Foundation for Research and Education in 1952. In the late 1950s, the Institute moved to its current location on Military Drive. In 1982, The Foundation was renamed Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) and Texas Biomedical Research Institute on February 1, 2011. Tom Slick’s sister, Betty Moorman, helped establish a club whose members could make an annual contribution to support the Foundation’s research. In the 1950s, the Foundation purchased an historic 1854 mansion in San Antonio called The Argyle to serve as the headquarters. Members of the club continue to meet and support scientific research at Texas Biomed today with their time and resources. A group of women called the Texas Biomedical Forum raises money to support pilot grants for Texas Biomed scientists, science awards for outstanding teachers, and tours of the Institute for high school students. In 1988, the Founders Council formed. It includes supporters ages 25 to 46 who support the Institute are community advocates and financial supporters. The Founders Council also provides grants for equipment to Texas Biomed scientists. Structure Located on a campus on the northwest side of San Antonio, Texas Biomed employs over 60 doctoral level biomedical scientists, including 18 principal investigators and 360+ staff members. Focused on basic biomedical research, the Institute is divided into the Department of Genetics and the Department of Virology & Immunology. The Southwest National Primate Research Center, a part of Texas Biomed, is an international resource that provides specialized facilities and expertise in research with nonhuman primates to investigators from around the US and other countries. It maintains 2,500 nonhuman primates. Texas Biomed maintains the only privately owned Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory in the United States, developing bioterrorism defenses and novel strategies against incurable infectious diseases. The AT&T Genomics Computing Center, "the world's largest computer cluster devoted to statistical genetic analysis," helps scientists find genes that influence susceptibility to diseases at record speed. Scientific accomplishments Developed high frequency ventilator to