New Laboratories Will Benefit Research at IU School of Medicine
INDIANAPOLIS -- Medical science research is getting a boost at Indiana University school of Medicine because of a much-needed expansion and renovation of the school's largest research facility.
A 161,236 square-foot expansion to the John D. VanNuys Medical Science Building on the Indiana University Medical Center campus represents the first phase of the renovation project. The four-story addition, which includes laboratory and office space, will be dedicated at 3 p.m. on Friday, October 23.
August M.Watanabe, M.D., executive vice president for science and technology at Eli Lilly and Company, and professor of medicine and of pharmacology and toxicology at the IU School of Medicine, will deliver the keynote address at the dedication ceremony. Walter J. Daly, M.D., dean emeritus of the IU School of Medicine, will receive an honorary degree from the university.
Thirty-four faculty researchers from the School of Medicine's departments of biochemistry and molecular biology, pharmacology and toxicology, microbiology and immunology, physiology and biophysics, and anatomy will move into the addition. Laboratories and offices were designed to enhance the synergy among researchers and provide a more efficient working environment. The new facility will allow scientists who study how the human body functions and why disease occurs to advance their work because of the resources available in this new facility.
"The IU School of Medicine is one of the top public university research institutions," says Joe Christian, M.D., Ph.D., associate dean for basic sciences and the regional medical education centers, "and to maintain that designation, we must continue to provide the best facilities for our faculty researchers."
Medical and graduate students, who spend much of their time in the VanNuys Medical Science Building, also will benefit from the updated facilities. "Our faculty has a dual mission of contributing to the progress of basic science research while at the same time teaching our students to understand these advances," says Robert W. Holden, M.D, dean, IU School of Medicine. "The integration of research and education provides the foundation for excellence at the IU School of Medicine."
The VanNuys Medical Science Building was built in 1958 and an annex was added in 1969. Minimal renovation to the building has left it in need of major enhancements to update it to current scientific standards. With the expansion complete, the original building will now be remodeled in two phases.
Funding for the expansion was secured by the Indiana State Legislature. The Legislature granted a portion of the addition to the Indiana State Department of Health Laboratories, which will occupy the second floor.
BSA Design was the architect for the VanNuys expansion.
Editor's Note: An architectural rendering of the John D. VanNuys Medical Science Building is available upon request in an electronic file or a paper print out format.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
A STATEWIDE
RESOURCE
Phone
317 274 7722
Fax
317 278 8722