General Description (rev date 10/07)
Laboratory research buildings at MUSC include the following: Thurmond Biomedical Research Building, a 7-story, 180,000 ft2 building that contains the Gazes Cardiac Research Institute as well as MUSC and VA research labs and shared facilities; Basic Science Building, a 7-story, 332,000 gross ft2 complex that houses the basic science departments; Walton Research Building, an 8-story, 56,600 ft2 building housing the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine as well as research laboratories for the Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and Pharmaceutical Sciences; and the Darby Children’s Research Institute, a 7-story building providing labs for researchers in 14 multidisciplinary programs. Buildings that include significant laboratory space as well as clinical facilities include: the Storm Eye Institute, housing a 40,000 ft2 Vision Research Center; the Institute of Psychiatry, containing 9 basic science laboratories for alcohol and substance abuse research; and the Hollings Cancer Center.
MUSC continuously upgrades and expands laboratory space. Recent improvements include renovation of the Walton Research Building (completed in 2003 with support from an NIH Extramural Research Facilities Construction Grant) and extensive modernization of several floors in the Basic Science Building. A new Drug Discovery Building (120,000 ft2 with construction starting in late 2007) will contain laboratories for chemical and structural biology, medium and high throughput screening, and small animal imaging. The Bioengineering Building (situated next to the Drug Discovery Building) will provide new facilities for tissue engineering, novel device development, and genomic technologies.
All research laboratories at MUSC have access to shared equipment and resources such as ultra-low freezers, centrifuges, scintillation counters, and cold, warm, light-controlled and tissue culture rooms. Appropriate glassware and sterilization facilities are provided. All laboratory investigators have well equipped modern laboratories with suitable space for trainees and students.