As the College of Pharmacy moved into the brand new UNMC Center for Drug Discovery and the Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education, the rest of us could only wonder, how cool will this facility be?
Very, said Mic Tierney, construction project manager, Facilities Management and Planning. The building’s student areas include the latest in technology, but with a personal touch. Small, enclosed one-person work lounges eliminate all distractions while supplying ergonomically efficient study environments. An open area gives larger groups a place to gather and share information.
“These student spaces were all designed to be flooded with natural light and with views to the south and north,” Tierney said.
Speaking of technology, the building’s education areas take full advantage of it for active, flexible and collaborative learning, said Pharmacy Dean Courtney Fletcher, Pharm.D.
Pan/tilt and zoom cameras in the model pharmacy, compounding and aseptic labs allow the professors to review and work with students and maintain a history of their progress, Tierney said. These cameras also allow the professor to capture and transmit ongoing work to monitors throughout the room.
Its educational space includes two medium-sized classrooms, two large classrooms, 12 group meeting rooms and two auditoriums.
Though a single building, the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery and the Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education operates almost as if two separate buildings, Tierney said. The first two levels house all of the teaching classrooms and pharmacy practice skill labs as well as the administrative offices.
These are accessible to students and the public during regular hours. But the third level, the research labs, can only be accessed by card key.
“The research programs housed in the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery focus on infectious diseases and are supported by state-of-the-art laboratories specifically designed for the unique needs of drug synthesis and development and clinical/translational research,” Dr. Fletcher said.
As new infectious diseases emerge, and pharmaceutical companies are concentrating more and more on chronic or lifestyle conditions that make more money, UNMC has opted to take a leadership role in improving the human condition.
Mankind is faced with new bugs – ones that are resistant to the antibacterial medicine we currently have. We need new drugs.
Jonathan Vennerstrom, Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutical science, said the new building, to be dedicated Aug. 23, provides “excellent facilities to expand the drug discovery footprint at UNMC.”
The former College of Pharmacy building, the Joseph D. & Millie E. Williams Science Hall, will continue to be home for some pharmacy research faculty.
The college also has hired new faculty whose expertise is in the drug discovery skill set.
“As is true for anyone doing drug discovery, the skill sets can be applied to different diseases,” Dr. Vennerstrom said.
“Drug discovery is a team sport. No one person can do it all. You have to work together as a team. It’s intrinsic to translational research. You have to collaborate.”