In the past few months, there has been quite a bit of activity surrounding the progress on the Biomedical Discovery District and I wanted to take the opportunity to update you all on that work.
The purpose of the entire Biomedical Discovery District is to support the interdisciplinary approach needed to improve health- specifically in diabetes, infectious disease, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease and cancer research. This growing area of campus is designed to promote translational research - to allow the creation of new medical treatments faster and more efficiently. It's important to remember that not all of the buildings in the district are brand new as the first - Lions Research Building - opened in 1992. You can view a complete timeline of the Biomedical Discovery District here.
As many of you know, our current lack of lab space means that researchers who are funded and ready to pursue new discoveries have a real challenge in moving forward because of inadequate facilities. If we are to continue Minnesota's tradition as a leader in health discoveries and position ourselves as a world leader in biomedical research, we need to invest now in infrastructure and talent.
Many others recognized this need to invest as well, which is why the Biomedical Discovery District has received bipartisan support from the Minnesota legislature, Governor's office, and significant support from private companies and donors.
But, even with this support, we are not immune to economic realities. In March, I discussed how we'll finance the remaining infrastructure of the BDD in a presentation to the Board of Regents, which can be viewed here . If you take a look at the revised plan, you'll notice that we've combined two separate structures into one project. We are consolidating functions and repurposing space to lower the price tag without compromising our vision.
One result of the revised BDD plan is the Cancer/Cardiovascular Research Complex. And last week the Board of Regents approved the schematic plan for this building, which will be the gateway to the Biomedical Discovery District. Construction will begin in April 2011, and in 2013 faculty and staff will move in. The building will house 63 principal investigators working on advancements in the treatment of cancer and heart disease.
Another result of the revised BDD plan is that instead of building the last facility, those funds will be available to renovate existing laboratories, co-locating faculty in similar areas of research, and potentially decommissioning unneeded space.
For those of you who missed Friday's opportunity to view the displays of the building's design along the PWB-Moos Tower 2nd floor corridor, the posted Cancer/Cardiovascular Research Complex plan includes two aerial renderings of the building's exterior. Also, a video linked here shows the architect's plans.
When you've taken a look at the plans, let me know what you think of the planned progress.
Hi Frank,
The problem, as you rightly point out, is money. If it were really true that we were bursting at the seams with funded investigators who needed new space, that would be one thing.
But it appears that a bankroll is going to be used to add new people. Is this reasonable given your statements (elsewhere) that the medical school should shrink?
Is the following analysis true?
"The project will cost the University $109 million from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2019 over and above the cost of construction."
"Of this,$40 million will be for startup costs,$18 million for facility operations and overhead, and $51 million on programs and faculty."
"Forty new faculty principal investigators will be hired to work in the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research and the Cancer/Cardiovascular facility. The administration claims that $31 million of this will be paid for with grants. Aside from the risk of counting chickens before they hatch, the assertion that grants cover the cost of new faculty lines is simply false."
"Vice President for Research Mulcahy observed at a recent presentation to the Senate Committee on Research that grants do not cover their costs."
[From the FRPE website: http://umnfaculty.blogspot.com/ ]
It should also be noted that the U of M is on the hook for a significant fraction of the construction costs, these are not funded 100% by the state backing of so-called "university" bonds.
This financial profligacy is inappropriate for an institution that has declared itself under conditions of "financial stringency" and where faculty, staff, student services and programs are being severely cut.
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Don't get me wrong. The medical school is in a desperate position and needs money FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION. I just question your priorities, here.
Also, there is an interesting article in Forbes on ways to save money at NIH (and the U of M) by cutting things like homeopathy. For some commentary:
http://bit.ly/bktUl0
How about it?
And congratulations to the medical school for their accomplishments in its "social mission ranking."
http://bit.ly/cyCGFj
I look forward to returning to Minnesota and playing a game of bocce with you along the Central corridor route through campus.
Best,
Bill
ps. Almost forgot, looks like the natives are restless... What do you think about this?
http://bit.ly/c1qJCD
Dear Frank,
I'm sorry not to have received any further response from you about homeopathy.
In case you were unaware, the British Medical Association has just declared homeopathy "witchcraft."
http://bit.ly/a7F4Vi
I've also got a post up on the Star-Tribune Community Voices blog that I hope you'll read:
http://bit.ly/cBXZnK
Best,
Bill Gleason
Very quiet, here, on this dialogue site, Frank...
By now you must have seen the med school faculty vote of ~92% in favor of a dedicated med school dean.
http://bit.ly/bQMueY
Comments?
Is this a dialogue, or a monologue?
Bill Gleason
Hi Frank,
Still kinda quiet here. A couple of things have come up that you might want to comment on.
The HIPPA situation a the U of M? Perhaps you need to preach a little sermon on this matter? Some knuckles need more than rapped? For more of my thoughts, please see:
http://bit.ly/d3eFrp
And of course the homeopathy business continues. Seems to be getting stomped out in the civilized world? Germany latest keg to fall...
I've got a community voices post up on this, also:
http://bit.ly/9GdVGe
And of course we all noticed that the President decided to go against the wishes of 95% of the med school faculty recently over the dean business.
I hope that you and other colleagues will give some thoughts on this site that you've gone to so much trouble to set up.
Warm wishes (hot, in fact!) from Boston,
Bill Gleason