#Stowers25: Celebrating 25 Years
24 November 2025
Stowers Institute celebrates 25 years of foundational research at Anniversary Symposium
25 Years of Discovery, Innovation, and Hope
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News
American Century Investments CEO, Jonathan Thomas, recently spoke with 401k Specialist Magazine. He highlighted how the world-class research happening at the Stowers Institute is made possible.

In the article, Thomas explained the Stowers Institute was started by Jim and Virginia Stowers. Their experiences and medical backgrounds fueled a passion for helping others, and in 1994 the Institute was born.
“It’s an amazing story, and I can’t believe it isn’t more well known,” Thomas told 401kSpecialist.
“They traveled the world trying to figure out what to do,” Thomas explained. “They realized a lot of the therapies and cures back then hadn’t evolved over time. They decided to do something that almost nobody does while they’re alive; they gave away almost every penny of their wealth from American Century Investments, including stock ownership, to medical research. Today, the institute is our largest single owner.”
“It’s real money,” Thomas added. “It has between 500 and 600 staff people and 17 separate principal investigators. They’re all focused on finding cures for gene-based diseases—diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, memory issues, etc.—and things like regeneration. It’s fascinating, and this great work is all funded by American Century.”
The article explains the partnership gives American Century employees an incredible sense of purpose knowing they are helping advance medical breakthroughs for generations. “It’s the most inspiring thing you can imagine,” Thomas said.
Read the full article here.
#Stowers25: Celebrating 25 Years
24 November 2025
25 Years of Discovery, Innovation, and Hope
Read Article
News

18 November 2025
Stowers Associate Investigator Ariel Bazzini, Ph.D., discusses a collaboration that uncovered a new mechanism guiding the earliest steps of life.
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In The News

17 November 2025
From The Beacon, when the Institute opened its Kansas City headquarters in 2000, much of the scientific world was skeptical that biomedical research could succeed in the Midwest.
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