Virginia Tech and Carilion showed off the impressive new VT Research Institute last week during a media tour, ahead of the building’s planned opening on September 1.
Dr. Michael Friedlander, founding Executive Director of the VT Carilion Research Institute, has a $50 million startup budget and expects to employ 50-100 people by year’s end. That number will jump to 400+ in the next five to seven years, as Friedlander recruits additional scientists, technical staff, and administrative personnel to the region.
That number doesn’t include 168 new medical school students expected at the new campus in several weeks – all of whom will work on a research project while pursuing their medical degrees. As the founding director, Friedlander, who laid out his vision to the NewVa Corridor Technology Council at a breakfast earlier this week, will be a catalyst for developing Roanoke’s biomedical research and business economy.
Meanwhile, the School of Medicine and Research Institute, built on South Jefferson in what once was an industrial brown field, was aided by a $59 million capital projects bond package, with construction beginning in 2008. More than 500 workers helped erect the 207,000 square foot structure, over 50,000 sq. ft of which is a parking garage.
There was also a green component to its construction: 78% of all trash that left the site was recycled – more than two million pounds worth of materials. Architect Daniel DiMarco of AECOM in Roanoke is a Virginia Tech graduate. The “green” roof features 2-3 feet of soil, allowing for a wider variety of plants that can help keep energy costs down.
Motion activated lighting will keep rooms dark except when necessary, saving on energy costs as well. Hokie stone from a quarry near Blacksburg, concrete from the Boxley plant in Roanoke and bricks from Martinsville were shots in the arm for the regional economy.
Research dollars are already pouring in: the new VT-Carilion Research Institute was among 50 top research universities nationwide to receive a Pre-college and Undergraduate Science Education Program award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) that will be used to encourage university faculty to develop new ways to teach and inspire undergraduate students about science and research.
The $1.4 million award given to Virginia Tech — the university’s first education award from HHMI — was among $70 million in grants given by Howard Hughes Medical Institute this summer. HHMI invited 197 research-focused universities to apply for the science education grants.
The “scieneering” program is Virginia Tech’s first step toward developing an interdisciplinary undergraduate biomedical engineering program, building on the biomedical engineering graduate program already on campus.
The new Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute in Roanoke will also conduct an extensive study of brains – the so-called “Roanoke 15,000” will track brain functions long term. The project is backed by a multimillion-dollar private foundation grant. Participants in the study will have their brains analyzed as they perform certain functions.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]