Biomedical

The University of South Florida opened the $25-million Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr., Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute in Tampa on Sept. 15, 2007. Designed by HDR Architecture, the 108,000-sf, seven-story building is the only free-standing Alzheimer’s research facility in the world. The center is sited on 2.6 acres and houses flexible research laboratories for 8 scientific teams, a clinic, an imaging center, offices, and a vivarium. The design of the tower includes future construction of a wing extending east and north.

Emory University School of Medicine opened the Emory School of Medicine Building in Atlanta in early fall of 2007. The $58.3 million, 162,000-sf medical education facility will allow for a 15 percent increase in class size and will enable Emory to fulfill the teaching needs of its new interdisciplinary curriculum with a focus on integration of clinical sciences and patient interaction. The project is comprised of three buildings, a central building newly constructed and two completely renovated facilities.

The University of Virginia is constructing the 85,000-sf Advanced Research and Technology (ART) building in Charlottesville. Sited in the Fontaine Research Park, the four story facility is comprised of three floors above grade and an underground basement. It will contain wet and dry lab space, a vivarium, two MRI rooms and one small animal MRI room, environmental rooms, office space, and conference areas. The 22-month project is slated for completion in March of 2008.

Construction on the David Murdock Core Lab Building at the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) in Kannapolis is slated for completion in late 2007. The $200-million, 311,000-sf facility will house approximately $90 million in equipment including a 900 megahertz NMR, an 800 megahertz NMR, and a 700 megahertz NMR. The facility will be managed by Duke University and will include a genomics lab, an imaging facility with electron microscopes, and a GMP manufacturing facility for biologics and small molecules.

Cornell University is constructing the $162 million Weill Hall in Ithaca, N.Y. The 250,000-sf building, also known as the Life Sciences Technology Building, is slated for completion in early 2008. The research facility will be the centerpiece of Cornell's New Life Sciences Initiative (NLSI), an effort to promote the college’s progress in genomic-led research. The facility is expected to attain LEED Gold certification for sustainable design and construction.

The National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is creating six Regional Centers for Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. Each center will receive $23 million per year for the next seven years to support influenza research. The participating institutions are Emory University School of Medicine, St.

Emory University's Woodruff Health Sciences Center broke ground on the $365 million Emory Clinic in Atlanta on August 27, 2007. The five-story complex will house 470,000-sf of dedicated patient care space, outpatient services, offices, medical training, and parking. The flexible and efficient facility will accommodate clinical and translational research and treatment. Construction is slated to begin in 2008. When the facility is occupied in the summer of 2012, an existing Emory clinic will undergo a $30 million renovation to accommodate biomedical research.

The University of Louisville is planning to expand its Health Science Center in downtown Louisville over the next 20 years. The $2.5 billion project will include 3.2 million-sf of construction including six combined lab and office buildings, research facilities, administration, and parking space. The project will be supported by $1.8 billion in public funds and $700 million from private industry and aims to incubate business and research development.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Amarillo is initiating three major construction projects totaling $33 million. Ground was broken in late summer of 2007 on the 48,000-sf, $18 million Coulter Research Building for biomedical and translational research. The School of Pharmacy will undergo an $8 million, 23,000-sf expansion to house administration, academic space, two 120-seat instructional classrooms, a 26-station instructional laboratory, and a patient simulation center for teaching and assessment. Construction will begin in early 2008.

The World Health Organization's 2007 report states that infectious diseases are emerging more rapidly and spreading more quickly due to increased human mobility and travel. As the increasing risk of disease outbreaks and epidemics escalates, these health emergencies can become threats to global public health security. The World Health Report 2007 examines contemporary infectious disease trends and examines the revised International Health Regulations (2005), which came into force in 2007, as a tool for health risk identification and management.

The University of Rochester is constructing a $42.5 million facility for the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The 163,000-sf, four-story building doubles existing space for clinical and translational research and includes a three-story glass atrium. Ground was broken on the project in May of 2006 and completion is slated for spring of 2008.

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) was awarded $14.7 million from the Canadian federal government in summer of 2007 to fund creation of the Molecular Medicine Research Centre. Supporting cancer, cardiac, and neurology research programs, the $44.1 million center will be created in partnership with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and private partners including Philips Medical Systems.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published “Advancing the Nation’s Health: A Guide for Public Health Research Needs, 2006-2015.” Identifying research needs that need to be addressed during the next ten years, the guide is available at http://www.cdc.gov/OD/science/PHResearch/cdcra/.

The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University has achieved a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council for the Biodesign Institute Building B, which opened in 2006. Building A, which opened in 2004, received Gold level certification. The two buildings were constructed separately, but are connected on all levels by glass walkways. The Biodesign Institute facilities were designed by the architectural team of Gould Evans and Lord, Aeck & Sargent.

Boston University’s School of Dental Medicine will open a dental training institute at Dubai Healthcare City in the United Arab Emirates. Focusing on research, education, and treatment, the institute will provide specialty training in areas such as oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, and periodontics. Boston University’s center will open to its first students in summer of 2008. Dubai Healthcare City is also partnering with institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and pharmaceutical maker AstraZeneca.