The University of Alabama at Birmingham on Tuesday opened the $192 million Shelby Biosciences Research Building.
The facility was supported by $152 million in federal funding secured through the leadership of retired U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby when he was in office and “represents a significant investment in UAB’s research enterprise and underscores the university’s continued rise as a national leader in biomedical and behavioral research,” UAB said in a news release.
The building brings together research-intensive faculty from UAB’s Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine and the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“This building, and the discoveries and knowledge it will foster, represent what is possible when higher education institutions work in concert with elected leaders with a shared commitment to improving and saving lives,” said UAB President Ray Watts. “Thanks to the unwavering support of Sen. Richard Shelby and Gov. Kay Ivey, along with leadership from the Alabama house and senate, UAB is able to expand research that directly improves the health and well-being of the people of Alabama and far beyond. This facility strengthens our ability to make transformational, positive differences in more lives.”
The more than 200,000-square-foot, eight-story Shelby Biosciences Research Building includes labs, shared research cores and flexible collaboration spaces.
“This new space dramatically expands our ability to recruit top scientific talent, support complex research programs and pursue discoveries that improve human health,” said Dr. Anupam Agarwal, senior vice president for medicine and dean of the Heersink School of Medicine. “This building significantly increases the ability of our talented faculty, staff, students and trainees to tackle some of the most pressing biomedical challenges of our time.”
Birmingham-based Brasfield & Gorrie was lead contractor for the new facility.
