April 2007
Biomedical Science Research Building (BSRB) TourWISE arranged a tour of the new Biomedical Science Research Building (BSRB) for interested undergraduate and graduate students. The BSRB, a 435,000-square-foot state-of-the-art biomolecular research facility opened in February 2006. In January 2007 the University and Polshek Partnership Architects received the 2007 Institute Honor Award for Architecture from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for the BSRB building design. The BSRB labs are designed to promote interdisciplinary research. A typical floor has 48 lab modules grouped into six "neighborhoods", small support alcoves, procedure rooms, two glassware/sterilizer rooms, conference rooms, break areas, offices and office support areas. Four bridges on each floor connect offices to lab areas. In addition the facility includes a breathtaking 5-story atrium and an auditorium nicknamed by the campus community as “the Pringle” for its shape which somewhat resembles a stack of Pringles potato chips. Freshman Shannon Willaert is considering a biomedical engineering major and attended the tour to learn more about biomedical research that takes place at BSRB. Anne Heacock and Steve Fisher, researchers in the Medical School’s Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, took time to explain their research into why brain cells swell. All cells can swell, but the skull bone that surround the brain makes swelling in brain cells a serious and frequently fatal problem. The Heacock-Fisher lab is investigating causes so that preventions and solutions can be developed. In addition to the labs, another highlight of the tour was the visit to the building roof top which provided a great aerial view of campus and surrounding Ann Arbor!
|
|
|