About Us Connecting Scientists With Research Materials Worldwide
Addgene is a nonprofit repository that accelerates discovery by making it easier for researchers to share and access plasmids, viral vectors, and recombinant antibodies. We handle the logistics, from quality control and material transfer agreements to global distribution, so scientists can focus on their research.
Our Impact by the Numbers
Our Mission
Addgene empowers scientists to advance discovery by expanding access to high-quality research materials, tools, and resources, reducing barriers to sharing, and fostering collaboration worldwide.
Our Values
Five core values guide our work: supportive culture, expanded accessibility, constructive collaboration, meaningful connections, and continuous evolution. Together, they shape how we support researchers and serve the scientific community.
What Makes Addgene Different
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Nonprofit by Design
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, contributions from material requests fund our repository operations, keeping costs low for researchers and supporting the infrastructure behind scientific sharing. -
A Global Network of Research Labs
Our collection is built by the research community. Labs around the world deposit the materials they’ve developed, and we get them into the hands of other scientists in academia and industry, at every career stage. -
Reducing Barriers to Research
We lower the financial, technical, and administrative barriers between scientists and the materials they need — from cost and customs requirements to tech transfer navigation. -
Industry & Institutional Partnerships
We partner with research institutions, nonprofits, and companies, including the Institute for Protein Innovation and Promega, to expand the range of research tools available through Addgene.
How Addgene Works for Researchers
Quality-controlled materials from labs worldwide
Every plasmid in our collection is deposited by a research lab, most often alongside a published paper, and is curated and sequence-verified. Our viral vectors and recombinant antibodies are built on the same approach: ready to use, held to rigorous standards, and backed by openly shared data that supports reproducible research.
Transfer agreements and global shipping
We coordinate material transfer agreements (MTAs) with researchers’ technology transfer offices and manage international shipping and customs requirements, making it easier for scientists to access and share research materials worldwide.
Expert educational resources
We provide free guides, eBooks, protocols, and blog articles to help researchers learn new techniques and make the most of their research tools. The Data Hub offers open-access data on viral vectors and recombinant antibodies.
Support from scientists
Our support team includes scientists with hands-on research experience who can help answer questions about our materials and resources and point you toward useful information.
Built by Scientists to Solve a Sharing Problem
In 2004, Addgene’s founders, Melina Fan, Benjie Chen, and Kenneth Fan, set out to solve a problem familiar to researchers: sharing materials between labs was often slow and difficult. They built a system to make scientific sharing easier, and the mission has continued to evolve alongside the needs of the research community.
Our purpose hasn’t changed in 22 years. We still exist to advance discovery and innovation by helping scientists do their research more easily, quickly, and reproducibly.
— President and Executive Director Chonnettia Jones, PhD
The timeline below highlights key milestones in Addgene’s growth, from its founding as a plasmid repository to its expanding collection of research materials and services.
Our History
2004
Founded as a nonprofit plasmid repository
2013
Won the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network Excellence Award for our electronic MTA system
2016
Began distributing ready-to-use viral vectors, our first materials beyond plasmids
2018
Shipped our 1 millionth plasmid
2022
Began distributing recombinant antibodies, our third material type
2025
Launched AAV Packaged on Request, our first on-demand production service
Today
More than 2 million materials distributed across plasmids, viral vectors, and antibodies
Meet the Team Behind Addgene
Behind the repository is a team of scientific curators, technology transfer specialists, and software engineers. They bring different skills to one goal: making scientific sharing reliable and accessible for every researcher.
Our leadership team brings scientific and operational experience from nonprofit, industry, and academic institutions.
Share Science With Us
We seek science enthusiasts dedicated to streamlining sharing, alongside researchers eager to deposit materials that enable future scientific discovery.