The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) dedicated the $174 million Galveston National Laboratory on November 11, 2008. The 186,267-sf facility includes flexible BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories, clinical facilities, and research support space. The building houses the Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research. Project design began in September of 2003.
The Department of Homeland Security dedicated the $143 million National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., in October of 2008. The 160,000-sf facility will be operated by Battelle National Biodefense Institute. Housing 40,000-sf of BSL-3 research space and 10,000-sf of BSL-4 space, the facility will accommodate 140 scientists when it opens in March of 2009. Construction began on the project in June of 2006.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison completed the $12.5 million Institute for Influenza Viral Research in October of 2008. Located in the University Research Park in Madison, the 30,000-sf BSL-3 facility accommodates flu vaccine research for the School of Veterinary Medicine. The design-build contractor was ACS of Madison, Wis.
The Centers for Disease Control will initiate construction in January of 2009 on the second phase of the Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases facility in Fort Collins, Colo. The first 165,000-sf phase, representing 80 percent of the completed project, broke ground in August of 2004 and reached completion in May of 2007. Phase two is comprised of the completion of the fourth floor of the facility and is slated for completion in early 2010.
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s $25 million Regional Biocontainment Laboratory is slated for completion in early 2009. Located in the UT-Baptist Research Park in Memphis, the 30,315-gsf (16,250-nsf) project will provide 7,300-sf of BSL-3 research space, 1,257-sf of BSL-2 research space, and 7,695-sf of office and support space. Additionally, UTHSC will initiate construction in the first half of 2009 on a 50,000-sf to 70,000-sf vivarium adjacent to the RBL. Completion is expected in 2010.
The University of Louisville is constructing the $34.6 million Center for Predictive Medicine on its East Louisville campus in Shelby County, Ky. The 37,000-sf project is an NIH-funded Regional Biodefense Laboratory and houses BSL-3 facilities for research on emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism prevention. The building broke ground in 2006 and is slated for occupancy in summer of 2009. The project contractor is Messer of Cincinnati with International Commissioning Engineers as commissioning agent.
The University of Kentucky broke ground on a $28.5 million expansion and renovation of the Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center in Lexington in September of 2008. The project will include the construction of a necropsy laboratory wing and an administrative wing, nearly doubling the size of the existing 38,000-sf building, which will be completely renovated. The facility will also switch to alkaline digestion for tissue disposal. Completion is expected by 2010.
Novartis opened the 80,000-sf Research Center of Excellence in Virology in Cambridge, Mass., on Sept 13, 2008. The BSL-3 facility houses laboratory and office space for an additional 150 employees. The project will accommodate vaccine research for diseases such as influenza and HIV.
Montana State University dedicated the Jutila Research Laboratory and the Johnson Family Livestock Facility in August of 2008. The $2.5 million, 3,500-sf Jutila Research Lab accommodates BSL-3 infectious disease research. The $3.4 million, 7,500-sf Johnson Family Livestock Facility will support BSL-2 large animal veterinary research.
The University of Queensland opened the $33 million Centre for Advanced Animal Science (CAAS) on its Gatton campus in September of 2008. The biocontainment facility will house laboratories for disease and vaccine research, group and individual animal pens, and cattle handling facilities. The project was designed by S2F and built by McNab Constructions. CAAS is a joint venture of the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government.
Boston University Medical Center’s $198 million BSL-4 laboratory at BioSquare in Boston will reach completion by October of 2008. Housing the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, the seven-story, 192,000-sf facility will open in April of 2009. The project contractors are McCarthy and Turner Construction.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will dedicate the National Biodefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center (NBACC) on October 22, 2008. Part of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., NBACC will support biological threat characterization and bioforensic research. The 160,000-sf lab will employ approximately 120 people and will include a vivarium and BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories.
North Carolina State University opened the Man-in-Simulant Test (MIST) laboratory in Raleigh in mid-2008. Located in NC State's College of Textiles, the facility will allow researchers to evaluate the capabilities of protective garments against non-toxic vapors that resemble chemical and biological agents. The laboratory is the only one of its kind located at a university in the United States and was funded by a two-year, $2 million grant from the Department of Defense.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the finalists for the possible location of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in August of 2008. The five locations reported as finalists are:
Australia’s CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) opened its high-throughput diagnostic emergency response center in Geelong in July of 2008. The leading edge laboratory will provide rapid testing of samples for animal diseases such as foot and mouth or equine influenza. Providing a core diagnostic area, a test development and validation facility, and space for predictive biomodeling, the secure facility is able to perform serology tests on up to 10,000 samples per day in the event of an outbreak.
