Research Universities
|
  |
|
Universities like Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University, among others, have made it possible for St. Louis to be a major center for the nation's biomedical research. - Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ranks third among research medical schools in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report, April 7, 2008. Grants and contracts totaling more than $464.6 million supported faculty research efforts at the School of Medicine during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007.
The medical school ranks among the top 10 in specialty fields of audiology (5), pediatrics (7), internal medicine (8), according to U.S. News & World Report "America's Best Graduate Schools 2009". The biological sciences graduate program ranked seventh overall with top 10 rankings in microbiology (3), genetics/genomics/bioinformatics (4), immunology/infectious disease (5), cell biology (9), neuroscience/neurobiology (9), and biochemistry/biophysics/structural biology (10), according to U.S. News & World Report's rankings for 2008. To meet the challenge posed by advances in biomedical sciences, the School of Medicine has devised a strategy called BioMed 21 to spur multidisciplinary and translational research. Three units - the Center for Genome Sciences, the Institute of Clinical and Translation Sciences and the Center for Biological Imaging - will catalyze and support emerging forms of bioresearch and rapidly convert the knowledge of the genetic blueprint into individualized medical treatments. BioMed 21 developments include expansion of the Center for Genome Sciences and construction of a data center to accommodate next-generation DNA sequencing technology; construction of a 9,000-square-foot Center for Clinical Imaging Research; and the creation of five interdisciplinary research centers to be house in the BJC Institute of Health at Washington University, the largest building ever constructed on the campus of Washington University School of Medicine. The $235 million, 700,000-square-foot building is scheduled to open in December 2009. Additionally, the school will lead a regional group of institutions under a $50 million, five-year grant from the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award program.
Saint Louis University recently completed the $82 million Edward A. Doisy Research Center, named for the Nobel Laureate, the late Dr. Doisy. Dr. Doisy was a professor at the University and world renowned for his pioneering work in biochemistry and his discovery of the chemical property of vitamin K.
The 10-story, 206,000-square-foot biomedical research center houses 80 research labs with scientists focused on developing new treatments in five key research areas: cancer, liver disease, heart/lung disease, aging and brain disease, and infectious disease. Shortly before the Center's dedication, the University was awarded a $23.7 million, seven-year contract by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to grow its research into advanced therapies and vaccines to treat infectious diseases.
|
|
