Bio-tech plans progress

by AMANDA JORDAN
reporter

Marshall's new bio-tech center is one step closer to becoming a reality after last week's meetings between faculty and architects.

Architects from the HDMR Group Inc., located in Charleston, and the Strategic Science and Technology Planners, from Arlington, Va., met with faculty to discuss plans for the new bio-technology center.

Twenty faculty members from the microbiology, biochemistry, forensic science, pharmacology, anatomy, bioinformatics, medical education and biological science departments attended the meetings, Dr. K. Edward Grose, senior vice president of operations, said.

The week-long series of meetings began Sept. 24 at the Marshall Alumni Center and included tours of the College of Science and The Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.

"We basically went in as individuals and discussed the space requirements for each department," Dr. Gary Wright, assistant professor and chairman of the department of Physiology, said.

The next step in the planning process is to compile information received from faculty members to give architects an idea of how much space will be needed. Plans for the $40 million bio-tech center are proceeding as scheduled, and construction will begin sometime next semester, Grose said.

The addition of the bio-tech center will be a solution to many problems faced by the School of Medicine and College of Science, said Dr. Elizabeth Bryda, assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics.

"One of the problems we have now is that our faculty is split up; all the medical school faculty are at the VA Hospital [located in west Huntington], and other science departments are downtown. We do collaborate now, but it is hard because we have to do a lot of driving," Bryda said. "We do have undergraduates that work in labs at the med school. If we're physically down there, it will be much more accessible to the students, so they will be able to do the type of research we do," Bryda said.

By having more high-tech facilities in which to do research, Bryda hopes the medical school will receive more funding.

"I think what is going to happen is that having the faculty together is going to create a better research environment, and because we're going to be stronger as a research group, we're going to be able to get more, and different kinds, of funding for our research," she said.

The medical school currently receives $2 million in research funds.

"If we have that extra money, then we'll be able to afford to have under graduates coming in and having some pretty decent research experience."

Being a molecular genetics researcher, Bryda knows the importance of greater access to technology the bio-tech center will bring.

"If you have more money and better facilities, you can buy better equipment, and access to more researchers like myself. [Students] can keep up with what is cutting edge in technology," she said.