MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A
new era of scientific advancement is emerging at St. Jude
Children's Research Hospital with the development of a $412-million advanced research center, the
institution announced today.
Designed as an interactive hub of exploration and discovery, the
more than 625,000-square-foot center will cultivate transformative
research and collaboration and attract scientists and clinicians to
St. Jude. Slated to break ground in spring 2018 and open in 2021,
it is a major component of a $1
billion capital expansion of the St. Jude campus.
"The advanced research center will bring together a powerful
combination of talent and technology in a space designed to propel
discovery," said James R. Downing,
M.D., St. Jude president and chief executive officer. "We are
creating an environment where scientists and clinicians will have
ready access to leading-edge resources and opportunities to pursue
breakthroughs in hopes of accelerating progress in treating and
curing catastrophic pediatric diseases."
The advanced research center builds on the St. Jude legacy of
innovations for understanding and treating childhood cancer and
other life-threatening diseases. Architecturally, it will be an
interactive and interdisciplinary environment designed specifically
for generating new ideas and teamwork. Its labs and spaces will
enable researchers to collaborate openly and across departments.
The center will stream natural light through open atriums and
courtyards and will feature numerous interaction zones uniting key
disciplines of science.
Developed by The Crump Firm, lead architect on the project, and
Jacobs Engineering, experts in lab design, the advanced research
center will feature state-of-the-art labs focusing on immunology,
neurobiology, cell and molecular biology, gene editing,
metabolomics, advanced microscopy, epigenetics, genomics,
immunotherapy and RNA biology. The center will also house
cutting-edge technologies and resources that can transform science
and accelerate the pace of discovery.
"Every aspect of the advanced research center has been
customized to inspire and support researchers who seek to lead and
collaborate," said James I. Morgan,
Ph.D., St. Jude scientific director and executive vice president.
"We have committed critical resources to equip the brightest minds
in science with the world's most sophisticated technologies and
equipment so that we can continue to speed discoveries that will
save children."
Progress at St. Jude extends worldwide because of the
organization's global collaborations and rapid sharing of results
and knowledge.
"Through our international efforts, St. Jude is working to raise
the survival rates of children with cancer worldwide by sharing
knowledge, technology and organizational skills," said Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, M.D., St. Jude Global
Pediatric Medicine chair and executive vice president. "The vital
work that will occur in the advanced research center will help make
improvements in the level and quality of care delivered around the
globe."
The advanced research center propels St. Jude for the long term,
accommodating growth for the next 20 years and beyond, with two of
eight floors slated for future expansion and evolving
technology.
The ambitious expansion at St. Jude is being made possible
largely through the continued support of generous donors across the
nation and the world who are committed to helping fulfill the St.
Jude mission of finding cures and saving children.
"At St. Jude, we strive for the day when no child dies in the
dawn of life," Downing said. "The investment in the advanced
research center ensures that our pioneering work will continue far
in the future."
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St.
Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world
understands, treats and cures childhood cancer and other
life-threatening diseases. It is the only National Cancer
Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to
children. St. Jude is ranked the No. 1 pediatric cancer
hospital by U.S. News & World Report. Treatments
developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall
childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since
the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St.
Jude freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child
saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide
can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families
never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel,
housing and food — because all a family should worry about is
helping their child live. To learn more, visit stjude.org
or follow St. Jude on social media
at @stjuderesearch.
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SOURCE St. Jude Children's Research Hospital