| Rank | Rank in 2005 | Name/Location | Country | Type | Strengths | Weaknesses |
| 1 | 12 | The J. David Gladstones Institutes, San Francisco | USA | Independent | Networking | Family | Benefits | Remuneration |
| 2 | 2 | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle | USA | Private | Career | Communication | Family | Equity |
| 3 | 1 | US Environmental
Protection Agency,
Research Triangle Park, NC | USA | Government | Benefits | Remuneration | Funding | Equity |
| 4 | 22 | Emory University,
Atlanta, GA | USA | Academic | Family | Communication | Career | Value |
| 5 | 3 | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC | USA | Government | Facilities | Communication | Funding | Benefits |
| 6 | 40 | Fox Chase Cancer Center,
Philadelphia | USA | Private | Training | Communication | Value | Family |
| 7 | 15 | National Institute of Diabetes &
Kidney Diseases, NIH,
Bethesda, MD | USA | Government | Networking | Career | Family | Benefits |
| 8 | 6 | Wadsworth Center,
Albany, NY | USA | Government | Training | Family | Funding | Career |
| 9 | 4 in nonUS | Dalhousie University,
Halifax, Nova Scotia | Canada | Academic | Funding | Remuneration | Benefits | Training |
| 10 | 66 | USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD | USA | Government | Remuneration | Benefits | Funding | Career |
| 11 | 9 | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Woods Hole, MA | USA | Independent | Career | Remuneration | Facilities | Benefits |
| 12 | - | Boyce Thompson Institute
for Plant Research,
Ithaca, NY | USA | Independent | Communication | Facilities | Value | Remuneration |
| 13 | 8 | National Cancer Institute,
Bethesda, MD | USA | Government | Networking | Funding | Equity | Benefits |
| 14 | - | Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center,
Saint Louis | USA | Independent | Facilities | Networking | Communication | Family |
| 15 | 28 | Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN | USA | Academic | Funding | Career | Training | Equity |
| 16 | 73 | Cornell University,
Ithaca, NY | USA | Academic | Benefits | Communication | Value | Funding |
| 17 | 88 | Harvard Medical School,
Boston, MA | USA | Academic | Value | Communication | Funding | Remuneration |
| 18 | - | US Environmental
Protection Agency,
Cincinnati, OH | USA | Government | Remuneration | Benefits | Training | Equity |
| 19 | 23 | University of Alabama
at Birmingham | USA | Academic | Career | Training | Benefits | Equity |
| 20 | - | National Institute of Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Diseases,
Phoenix, AZ | USA | Government | Equity | Value | Benefits | Funding |
| 21 | 57 | University of California,
Davis | USA | Academic | Value | Equity/Benefits | Communication | Funding |
| 22 | 36 | Duke University,
Durham, NC | USA | Academic | Value | Career | Networking | Funding |
| 23 | 16 | Medical College of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee | USA | Academic | Career | Communication | Benefits | Equity |
| 24 | 20 | Mayo Clinic,
Rochester, MN | USA | Independent | Facilities | Training/Career | Funding | Networking |
| 25 | - | University of Illinois,
Urbana | USA | Academic | Benefits | Equity | Remuneration | Career |
| 26 | 13 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge | USA | Academic | Networking | Facilities | Funding | Remuneration |
| 27 | 49 | Rockefeller University,
New York | USA | Academic | Career | Value | Remuneration | Family |
| 28 | 10 | Washington University,
Saint Louis, MO | USA | Academic | Value | Remuneration | Networking | Equity |
| 29 | 11 | The University of Texas
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center,
Houston | USA | Academic | Funding | Career/Facilities | Networking | Value |
| 30 | 97 | National Institutes of Health,
Bethesda, MD | USA | Government | Training | Career | Equity/Family | Benefits |
| 31 | 51 | University of California,
San Francisco | USA | Academic | Career | Funding | Family | Remuneration |
| 32 | 44 | University of Iowa,
Iowa City | USA | Academic | Family | Remuneration | Training | Career |
| 33 | 104 | The University of Texas
Health Science Center at
San Antonio | USA | Academic | Benefits | Remuneration | Funding | Career |
| 34 | - | North Dakota State University,
Fargo | USA | Academic | Benefits | Facilities | Remuneration | Career |
| 35 | 6 | University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill | USA | Academic | Career | Funding | Facilities | Benefits |
