Replacement Research Facility
to open doors soon

By Darla Brown

The fence is coming down and the plants are blooming around the former construction site. It won’t be long until people are occupying the Replacement Research Facility (RRF), which from the outside looks just about finished.

Substantial completion of the fire-damaged fifth and sixth floors, which make up a state-of-the-art vivarium, is set for Nov. 26. Construction work on laboratory research floors one through four is slightly ahead of the vivarium schedule. The final completion date for all six floors of the entire 200,673 gross square-foot building is set for Jan. 3, 2008.

“The difference between substantial completion and final completion is that substantial means the space is fit to occupy on that date, if we choose to do so. However, substantial completion also contractually allows for an additional 30 days, plus or minus, for the general contractor to finish installing, repairing, or replacing items brought to their attention, through submission of the architect of record’s generated punch list. Generally, punch list items entail addressing finishes related work scopes that need to be brought into compliance with project design drawings and specifications,” explains Tony Lentola, senior project manager.

Move-in dates for the first occupants are now being worked out, but no animals will move into the two-story vivarium until January.

Connections linking the Medical School Building to the RRF, to encourage pedestrian flow between the buildings, are expected to open following substantial completion. Connections to the northeast and northwest sides of the RRF are located on the second, third, and fourth floors of the Medical School. In addition, there will be card-reader access on the northeast side of the RRF on the seventh floor of the Medical School Building, linking to the sixth floor of the RRF.

Another important date for the building has been set – Friday, Dec. 14, which will be the ribbon cutting, with formal remarks at 11:30 a.m. and tours and refreshments to follow.

“The opening of this building marks a major milestone in the Medical School’s history – the first new building since the school was completed nearly 30 years ago,” says Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo, M.D.

The total project cost is $80,530,000, which is covered in part by tuition revenue bonds, insurance claims, grants, and permanent university funds. The architect is WHR Architects and the contractor is Vaughn Construction.

A worldwide search for researchers has been chaired by Samuel Kaplan, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

“We had about 350 applications, and some were from very high quality applicants,” he says, adding that a number of candidates were brought in who specialize in microbiology, neurobiology, and biochemistry.

Jianping Jin, Ph.D., assistant professor in biochemistry and molecular biology, is the first hire. Dr. Jin received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, and is coming to the Medical School following postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard Medical School, Baylor College of Medicine, and Cold Spring Harbor laboratory. His research has played a major role in understanding how DNA damage signaling controls DNA replication, and he has identified novel proteins that are mutated in certain forms of cancer, such as colon cancer and melanomas.

“With his track record of publications, including many in high profile journals, and the strong letters of support written by investigators who know him well, there is ample evidence that Jianping is an exceptionally talented individual with an outstanding future in biomedical research. We are fortunate to have recruited him to our school,” says Rodney Kellems, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Two other recruitments from this initial search – in neurobiology and anatomy and in microbiology – are under way. Occupants of the building will come from new recruitments in combination with the relocation of Medical School Building-based researchers. The goal is to maximize use of space and scientific interactions in both the Medical School Building and the RRF, treating the facility as one Medical School Building. Approximately 30 investigators will be housed in the RRF when fully occupied.