Hamner Institutes Closes Its Doors

The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C., ended operations on Dec. 31. Once known as the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, it was founded by 11 chemical companies in 1974 to gauge the potential impact of chemicals on human health. In 2001, 90% of its $18 million budget came from the Long-Range Research Initiative of the American Chemistry Council. However, Hamner’s Institute for Chemical Safety Sciences will live on. SciMetrika, a Durham, N.C.-based population health consulting firm, acquired the chemical safety institute and has hired its staff of 28 scientists.