Saranac Lake, Trudeau Institute win big accolades

Where is the best place to live and work in the United States for highly trained post doctorate researchers?

According to The Scientist — a magazine that devotes itself to the life sciences — the answer is Saranac Lake.

The Trudeau Institute, one of the country’s top bio-tech research facilities, ranked #1 in the latest survey.

After not even making the top 40 lists the past 3 years, the Trudeau Institute shot to The Scientist’s number one spot in 2010. Postdocs there attribute this accolade to the institute’s specialized research focus on infectious and inflammatory diseases, collaboration between labs, and idyllic location on Saranac Lake in the heart of New York’s Adirondack Mountains.

A little context is in order here.

Most rural communities are struggling with brain drain and a devastating loss of the kind of high-tech, high-paying jobs that are expected to drive America’s economy

That kind of work generally gets done in places like Boston and Philadelphia.

But according to this survey, Trudeau has managed to link ambitious research, top-flight facilities, and sweet quality of life.

While the quality of science is what initially drew them to the Trudeau Institute, postdocs say it was the salary, low cost of living, and lifestyle that finalized their decision. The $36,000 to $43,000 postdoc income goes further in rural New York than it would in a city.

This announcement comes in the midst of a growing debate over the future of economic development in the Adirondacks and Saranac Lake, the Park’s most populous community.