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Dean's Message
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On Tuesday, October 24, 2000, at 2:00 p.m., Governor Parris N. Glendening, University System of
Maryland chancellor Donald N. Langenberg, UMB president David J. Ramsay, NIH acting director Ruth Kirschstein, Pharmacy dean David Knapp, and I celebrated Health Sciences Facility II. This was an event that we have been working toward for several years, and it was gratifying to finally put shovel to dirt and break ground on a part of our future.
Health Sciences Facility II (HSFII), a $67 million state-of-the-art biomedical research building, will significantly increase laboratory space and pave the way for new breakthroughs in basic science and patient care. The 101,000 square foot research facility will allow us to expand our prestigious programs in infectious diseases, basic research in emerging pathogens, and vaccine development. Moreover, HSFII will help us recruit and retain the best doctors, scientists, and students, and enhance our ability to compete internationally for research funding. Research grants to the School of Medicine have nearly tripled in the last decade to $173 million, and HSFII will allow us to continue this phenomenal growth.
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As you know, seventy percent of the building will belong to the medical school; two floors will be occupied by the School of Pharmacy’s drug design and structural biology programs. Certain areas of research, particularly the development of new drugs, genetics, and cancer, are being done collaboratively; so it makes perfect sense to have researchers from both schools in this new research facility.
In order to provide a facility able to meet the technical demands of 21st century research, HSFII will have dozens of state-of-the-art laboratories. We were pleased to receive a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which will be used to establish an Emerging Pathogens Research Center. This will have special containment areas for the safe study of infectious disease. Dr. Kirschstein said in her remarks that "the speakers today represent the state of Maryland, the University of Maryland, the School of Medicine, the School of Pharmacy, and the NIH. This seems right to me because the science in which we put our faith is not a lonely enterprise. To the contrary, it relies on collaborations and partnerships as much for its intellectual capital as for its material assets. As I look at the good company in which I find myself today - partners and colleagues - I have every confidence that this new building will reward our collaborations and constancy in research with remarkable, groundbreaking science."
| School of Medicine dean Donald E. Wilson, on October 27, 2000, was named chair of the council of deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges. As chairman, Dr. Wilson will be an advocate for the nation’s medical schools and will testify before Congress on issues affecting medical education, research, and patient care. |
HSFII will be located on Penn Street, between Lombard and Redwood streets, and will adjoin the original Health Sciences Facility (HSFI), completed in 1995. The new building will also be connected to the Medical School Teaching Facility, Howard Hall, and the Bressler Research Building. HSFII will be located across the street from the
R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, and faculty members will have easy access to the University of Maryland Medical Center and the Baltimore VA Medical Center.
Governor Glendening, who played a key role in securing funding for this project, said, "HSFII will keep the University of Maryland on the cutting edge of medical research, education and patient care. By giving doctors and scientists the resources to do their best work, HSFII will foster breakthroughs and discoveries that will improve health care worldwide.
I am confident that Health Sciences Facility II will enable us to improve health care in Baltimore, in the nation and, indeed, the world. But I am also confident that HSFII will be an asset to us in our primary mission - to teach students."
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