Thursday, March 14, 2019
  Research

By Jennifer Berghom

McALLEN, TEXAS – The University of Texas School of Medicine is expanding its research endeavors – and taking UTRGV one step closer to becoming an Emerging Research university – with the opening of its new biomedical research building in McAllen.

The School of Medicine celebrated the opening of its Biomedical Research building Wednesday, March 13, with officials from the City of McAllen, its teaching affiliate DHR Health, local and state dignitaries and the community.

The building, located at 5300 N. L St. (near the intersection of Jackson Road and Dove Avenue), will provide laboratory, classroom and collaborative space for investigators working in the areas of cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, and other areas of research important to the Rio Grande Valley community. This modern facility was made possible through a collaborative effort of UTRGV, DHR Health and the City of McAllen.

The city donated the land, and the building – located on DHR Health’s South Campus – will be leased to UTRGV by DHR Health and DHR Real Estate Management, L.L.C.

“This new facility allows us to continue our work together to build an academic health center, a place where the next generation of healthcare professionals and scientists train, but as in Dallas, and San Antonio and Houston, the place where medical breakthroughs happen and where patients receive the world’s best care,” said Dr. John H. Krouse, executive vice president for Health Affairs at UTRGV and dean of the School of Medicine. 

The building will house researchers from the departments of Neuroscience, Human Genetics, Immunology and Microbiology, and Molecular Science. It also will be the home of the School of Medicine’s new cancer immunology institute.

“We are so proud to have the UTRGV Biomedical Research Facility right here in McAllen, as we are proud partners in developing the medical school, the students and the researchers in our community that will benefit so much from the work that will be undertaken in the building,” said McAllen Mayor Jim Darling.  “We are both working toward the health and welfare of our citizens, for creating improved lives and bright and hopeful futures.  As the school grows and succeeds, so will our community.”

The 83,032 square-foot facility includes:

  • 16 research labs and support spaces.
  • Two classrooms.
  • Three collaboration/meeting rooms.
  • Two small conference rooms.
  • One large conference room.
  • 40 private office and administrative support spaces.
  • A nursing mothers’ suite.
  • Vivarium.
  • Common areas.

The new facility is a welcome addition, because the School of Medicine is in the midst of expanding its basic science and translational research programs and is about to start its clinical research program, said Dr. Andrew Tsin, UTRGV School of Medicine associate dean for research.

“In order for us to continue to develop our research program at the School of Medicine, we need additional laboratory space,” Tsin said. “The day the building opens, it will be all occupied.”

The new facility will house faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows, and students working in 16 different research modules, including the new cancer immunology institute.

“There’s a lot of things we couldn’t have done because of the limitation of space and facility, and we hope this will be the beginning of a large expansion of research in the School of Medicine,” Tsin said.

Future plans for the building include adding examination rooms and patient sample rooms for the School of Medicine’s clinical research endeavors, Tsin said.

Tsin said the future expansion will allow researchers to take their findings in laboratories into the clinical setting to see if some of the new discoveries are safe and will be applicable and effective in developing interventions.

“We are all very excited about being able to expand our research enterprise and facility and, particularly, the first that is close to a major hospital, so clinicians can now collaborate with research scientists,” Tsin said. “Our residents and medical students can go between the hospital and research labs.”

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CONTACT
Sofia.Hernandez@UTRGV.edu
UTRGV School of Medicine Chief of Staff / 956-296-1951

GALLERY

Biomedical Research

building tour map

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

building tour conference room

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

building tour classroom

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

building tour refrigeration

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

building tour hallway

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

ribbon cutting

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

ribbon cutting in front of building

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

McAllen check presentation

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

Jim Darling

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

building entrance

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

building sign

Biomedical Research

  Thursday, March 14, 2019 — UTRGV celebrates the opening of the Biomedical Research Building on Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

  • Thumbnail: building tour map
  • Thumbnail: building tour conference room
  • Thumbnail: building tour classroom
  • Thumbnail: building tour refrigeration
  • Thumbnail: building tour hallway
  • Thumbnail: ribbon cutting
  • Thumbnail: ribbon cutting in front of building
  • Thumbnail: McAllen check presentation
  • Thumbnail: Jim Darling
  • Thumbnail: building entrance
  • Thumbnail: building sign

VIDEO MEDIA


ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.