Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) is receiving $14.3 million of one billion dollars of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds announced by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today to construct, repair and renovate scientific research laboratories and related facilities across the country.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) administered the grants, which are expected to create or sustain jobs nationwide and to help foster scientific advances that may lead to improved human health.
A total of 146 grants to institutions in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were awarded to upgrade and construct buildings, laboratory spaces and core facilities that are crucial to biomedical and behavioral investigators.
“This unprecedented Recovery Act investment in research facility construction will not only give our world-class scientists the modern facilities they need for impact research, it will also help create and maintain jobs in varied business sectors and in all regions of our country,” said Secretary Sebelius.
The Genome Data Center Initiative in St. Louis at (WUSM) will use their award to build a world-class data center to support human genome research. WUSM has been involved in genome science since the inception of the field. Its genome center recently embarked on several ambitious projects to decode the genomics of hundreds of cancer patients and their tumors. The research has the potential to transform the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
The new 15,000 square-foot data center will support the computational power and storage needs that projects like these require.
The awards are part of an overall $100 billion federal government investment in science, innovation and technology the Administration is making through the Recovery Act to spur domestic job creation in emerging industries and create a long-term foundation for economic growth.
