Genetic building opens

Distinguished University members rolled up their sleeves and armed themselves with shovels Thursday to assist in the groundbreaking ceremony for a new genetic medicine building.

According to UNC News Services, the building will cost $110 million to complete and will be one of the campus’s largest research facilities to date. Construction on the facility, located east of the Environmental Protection Agency Building and south of Mason Farm Road, is slated to reach completion in 2007.

The new facility represents a collaborative effort between the School of Medicine and the School of Pharmacy. It will facilitate research on incurable diseases and how to treat them with gene therapy, among other projects.

Officials described the building as an interdisciplinary endeavor that will offer unique research opportunities to scientists in medical fields.

The 330,000-square-foot complex will accommodate researchers from the School of Pharmacy as well as members of the pharmacology, genetics and biochemisty and biophysics departments in the School of Medicine.

Robert Blouin, dean of the School of Pharmacy, said he hopes the building will solidify the partnership between the pharmacy and medicine schools.

“It will create unprecedented opportunities of synergy for these two schools,” he said.

Blouin went on to say the collaboration will foster new and important research that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.

“Together, researchers will cure diseases that are currently incurable,” he said.

Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony shared their enthusiasm for the project and their hopes for future medical advancements.

Richard “Stick” Williams, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said he expects the center to contribute greatly to Chapel Hill’s medical discoveries and successes.

“Our interest is in building facilities that directly help the citizens of North Carolina,” Williams said.

William Roper, dean of the School of Medicine, vice chancellor for medical affairs and chief executive officer of the UNC Health Care System, noted that a hopeful spirit continues to unite everyone involved in creating the building.

“(The Genetic Medicine Building) shows a real commitment to the sciences,” Roper said.

Chancellor James Moeser emphasized the importance of an accomplished and dedicated faculty to the University’s success.

Moeser said the new building will provide UNC’s faculty with the necessary facilities to continue their legacy of top-flight accomplishments.

“Excellent facilities help drive the excellence we seek in both our research and learning environments,” he said.

The future development site is now home to the grounds services and housing support offices.

Moeser expressed his excitement for the center’s creation.

“I’m oftentimes fearful of what we’re doing to the beauty of the landscape,” he said. “In this case, I have no fear.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.