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New pharmacy building to enhance education, research |
| By
Charisse Montgomery |
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Sep 5, 2008
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In fall 2010, the College of Pharmacy will expand to the Health Science Campus, taking a portion of its students and faculty to a state-of-the-art new building.
The college is working with Poggemeyer Design Group of Toledo to plan and design the $25 million pharmacy facility, which will include laboratories, lecture halls and offices to provide more space for the College of Pharmacy and offer students hands-on experience in an integrated medical community.
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| This new rendering by Poggemeyer Design Group of Toledo shows what the College of Pharmacy building may look like when constructed on Health Science Campus. The $25 million facility is slated to open in 2010. |
The new pharmacy building will be located between the Block Science Building and the Health Education Building, a site chosen for its central location on campus and its proximity to classrooms, clinics, Mulford Library and UT Medical Center. In addition, the building site has foundation elements in place that will reduce construction time and costs, according to Chuck Lehnart, vice president for facilities and construction.
The two-story building will feature modern professional development amenities and high-tech laboratory space. Lehnart said the modular design with movable laboratory elements will enhance efficiency and flexibility in the new building, making it the most complete and clinically advanced facility in the region. A 500-seat auditorium also will be constructed in the Collier Building to accommodate large lecture classes.
Dr. Johnnie Early II, dean of the College of Pharmacy, said pharmacy students will have the opportunity to learn in a rich environment that allows all health science majors to further hone their clinical skills and become more knowledgeable of the roles and contributions of each profession.
“Since the year 2000, we have experienced a 75 percent growth in our student population, and we are currently recruiting new faculty and staff. The new facilities will improve the human condition by creating the rare opportunity of occupying two modern facilities and offering state-of-the-art infrastructure for teaching and research in pharmacy, the pharmaceutical sciences and patient care,” he said.
Early said that among its other high-tech amenities, the new pharmacy building will include a sterile products lab in which students will learn to prepare the types of injections and intravenous fluids that would be processed in a hospital or specialty pharmacy. The laboratories and learning spaces will offer UT students the latest technology and practice facilities, including the most modern techniques and equipment for extemporaneous compounding.
The building’s core laboratories will foster interaction among health science disciplines. Pharmacy students will have access to more lab and learning space, while they gain real-world experience in UT Medical Center and clinical settings. As the college increases its enrollment, the new facility will allow growth in both the new building and in Wolfe Hall.
Pharmacists will be a welcome addition on UT’s Health Science Campus.
“The value of a pharmacist’s input can’t be overstated,” said Dr. Mark Burket, professor of medicine and director of vascular medicine. “A huge portion of attending rounds is decision-making, and a major portion of decision-making involves drug choices. There simply isn’t enough time to stop and look up the answer. If you have an expert in pharmacologic issues, the answers are [clearer], come faster, and undoubtedly improve both patient outcomes and the educational process.”
Early added that expansion to Health Science Campus will lead to more research collaborations among students and faculty and enhance current collaborations in the fields of cancer and diabetes treatment, immunology and transplantation, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Based on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and contracts data, the pharmacy colleges that receive the most NIH research and grant funding tend to be located on health science campuses. Pharmacy faculty will have the opportunity to achieve a higher level of research through access to resources on Health Science Campus, Early said.
According to Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, Health Science Campus provost, executive vice president for health affairs and College of Medicine dean, "The construction of this new facility will create great synergy in the education, research and clinical care programs of all of the UT health science programs. Sharing classrooms, laboratories, libraries and student centers will promote collaboration and enhanced mutual respect. The opportunities are truly without limit to improve the human condition."
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