| 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 |