A world-class research facility that will centralize genetic
research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus will be officially
dedicated at 9:30 a.m., on Monday, July 27. The three-level, 36,000 gross
square foot building, which is part of the Munroe-Meyer Institute at UNMC,
is located at 45th and Dewey streets.
The addition will allow basic scientists to work hand-in-hand
with clinical scientists and genetic counselors. The first floor will be
used for pediatric and orthopedic research and will include conference
rooms, mechanical rooms, and additional areas for research support and
recreation programs. The second and third floors are for bench lab research.
“We already have an excellent group of people who are scattered
all over campus. By centralizing their work effort, you not only create
efficiencies of scale through the sharing of resources, you also create
an environment in which collaborative thinking flourishes,” said Bruce
Buehler, M.D., director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute and chairman of the
UNMC pediatrics department.
Participants in the dedication ceremony will be: UNMC Chancellor,
William O. Berndt, Ph.D., Chancellor of UNMC, Dr. Buehler, Linda Gardels,
president of the Hattie B. Munroe operating board, and Steve McWhorter,
a Hattie B. Munroe board member.
During the ceremony, a tile wall project will be unveiled. The
project is a wall of glass blocks and tiles designed by members of the
Hattie B. Munroe Foundation and children who have been seen at the Munroe-Meyer
Institute.
Funding for the $7 million project was provided by the Hattie
B. Munroe Foundation. Dr. Buehler said the addition represents a cooperative
effort between a private organization, the Hattie B. Munroe Foundation
and a state institution, UNMC.
The new addition is the fifth significant project funded by the
foundation. Other projects were the Hattie B. Munroe Center for Human Genetics,
the Habilitation Center, the Augmentative Communication Center and a three-story
addition to the Hattie B. Munroe Pavilion in 1990. Together, the foundation
and operating boards have donated more than $15 million to fund buildings
and various programs.
Since the Hattie B. Munroe Home was founded in 1922, the organization
has been dedicated to the development and support of programs directly
benefitting children with chronic disabilities and providing education
and support to their families.
The Meyer Rehabilitation Institute was constructed in 1958 as
a memorial to Louis Meyer, a longtime Omaha resident and nationally-known
industrialist. It began as a rehabilitation center for children suffering
from such diseases as polio and cerebral palsy and became part of UNMC
in 1968.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the
state. Through its commitment to research, education and patient care,
UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading centers for
cancer research and treatment and solid organ transplantation. More than
$27 million in research grants and contracts are awarded to UNMC scientists
annually. In addition, UNMC’s educational programs are responsible for
training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other
institution.