A new genomics building at UAB is drawing closer to reality.
Ground was broken Monday for the new Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building and the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation Conference Center at the site of the new facility, at Seventh Avenue South, between 19th and 20th streets in Birmingham.
“This facility, made possible by the foresight and help of our state and local leaders, as well as generous donors, will position UAB and Alabama to be a global leader in precision medicine and genomic sciences, enhancing world-class clinical care for our community and beyond,” said UAB President Ray Watts. “Advancements in precision medicine, informatics and data sciences will now be accelerated, and we will gain a greater understanding of the roles our genes and the environment play in major human diseases. These discoveries will lead to the development of new life-saving treatments.”
The $78 million, 175,000-square-foot facility will bring together researchers, equipment and staff for the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute, the Informatics Institute, the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and translational scientists from many different disciplines to increase the national and global competitiveness of both UAB and the state of Alabama in research, innovation, commercialization and economic development. The new facility will involve a renovation of the existing Lyons-Harrison Research Building, located at 701 19th St. S. on the UAB campus. Two buildings — the Kracke Building and the Pittman Center for Advanced Medical Studies — have already been removed to make way for the project, which will include the Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation Conference Center.
Construction is expected to be completed in spring 2024.
The project is being funded with $50 million from the state of Alabama via the Public School and College Authority. According to UAB, this marks the state's largest investment in a university facility. An additional $5 million from Jefferson County will also support the project along with funds supplied by UAB donors Altec/Styslinger Foundation and Marnix and Mary Heersink. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has expressed interest in working with other city leaders to support the project as well.
UAB will recruit at least 75 additional investigators and some 350 new support staff over the next five years to work alongside the current team of researchers already in place. The research conducted in the facility is projected to attract an estimated $100 million in additional research funding annually. Initial initiatives will include cancer research, neuroscience research, rehabilitation medicine and pediatric research, as well as research into the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the new collaborations will include clinicians serving on the front lines of patient care and enhancing translational health initiatives already active at UAB.
UAB’s efforts in research and development at the facility will include everything from basic research to commercialization, drug discovery and the formation of startup companies. Selwyn Vickers, dean of the Heersink School of Medicine and CEO of the UAB Health System, said recruitment and retention efforts made possible by the project will attract dozens of “startups” to Birmingham and Alabama, each pursuing potentially groundbreaking ideas and treatments.
“When an investigator gets a federal grant, many of which are more than $1 million, their lab is like a startup company with employees often making more than $50,000 annually,” Vickers said. “This building will house dozens of these ‘small companies’ that would not be in Alabama if it weren’t for UAB and its research engine. It is a constellation of companies providing jobs at a high level and attracting new talent that will increase our competitive advantage in supporting researchers who will, in turn, bolster our economy and aid in the care of all Alabamians.”
