Talaris Research Institute

Talaris Research Institute (TRI) "works to improve the social, emotional and cognitive development of children from the prenatal period through age five by providing parents with tools to raise their children effectively." [1]

"Talaris was established in 2000 by Bruce and Jolene McCaw, Seattle philanthropists with a longstanding interest in education and parents themselves of young children. The institute's mission: to advance knowledge of early learning and the importance of parenting in the first years of life.

"Talaris is currently designing a leading-edge brain research facility featuring a variety of laboratories and the most sophisticated brain imaging technology available. Scientists and outreach staff will work together to bring the advances of brain research to parents, educators, and others who share in nurturing the development of children everywhere." [2]

• Terry R. Meersman - executive director of Talaris Research Institute [3]
• Bruce McCaw co-Chair of the Talaris Research Institute Board [4]

In 2000, the journal Nature noted that:

"The Talaris Research Institute is being set up next to the university with a $91 million donation from Jolene and Bruce McCaw. Bruce McCaw is one of four brothers involved in setting up McCaw Cellular Communications, which was sold for $11.5 billion to AT&T in 1994.

"According to institute officials, plans call for at least 14 principal investigators to conduct research in areas ranging from molecular biology to experimental psychology. The newly constructed laboratories and facilities will be staffed by 100 support personnel. ...

"Talaris has already hired two researchers from the University of Washington as scientific co-directors — the wife-and-husband team of Patricia Kuhl, former head of speech and hearing, and Andrew Meltzoff, head of developmental psychology. Molecular biologist John Medina will be chief executive, and board chairman is Samuel Smith, a plant pathologist and president emeritus of Washington State University. ...

"The research will be strongly interdisciplinary, combining the efforts of neuroscientists, molecular biologists, cognitive psychologists, computer scientists and educational researchers," says Medina. "The goal is to understand inherent cognitive and neurological information-processing features in infants and small children."" [5]

Directors

Accessed December 2007:

• Bruce R. McCaw - Co-Chair
• Jolene M. McCaw - Co-Chair
• Samuel H. Smith, Ph.D. - President
• Kathleen Hebert - Director
• Roberta R. Katz, Ph.D. - Director
• Donald P. Nielsen - Director
• Craig W. Stewart - Director

Advisory Board

Accessed December 2007:

• Richard N. Brandon, Ph.D.
• Robin E. Cole, M.D.
• Jack Faris, Ph.D.
• Danette Swanson Glassy, M.D.
• Chuck Hirsch and Carol Hirsch
• Michael H. Levine, Ph.D.
• Eric Liu
• Joan Lombardi, Ph.D.
• G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D.
• Paula Smith
• Joyce Taylor
• Patricia A. Wasley, Ed.D.

Contact

Web: http://www.talaris.org