In 1998, Harvard Medical School-based scientists established the Institute of Chemistry and Cell Biology (ICCB), to facilitate the pursuit of chemical genetics as an academic discipline and a tool to further understand human biology and disease.

In 2002, the ICCB was awarded an Initiative for Chemical Genetics (ICG) grant from the National Cancer Institute, and its successful Investigator-Initiated Screening Program facilitated small molecule screening projects for more than 80 research groups worldwide.