Construction is underway on a new $357 million neurosciences building on UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus. The 270,000-square-foot, six-story building will house the departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Neurological Surgery all under one roof. Currently, these departments are located on different campuses. The new science building is scheduled to open in 2020.
(Image courtesy of UCSF Newsroom)
The Joan and Sanford I Weill Neurosciences Building will feature state-of-the-art research laboratories and clinics for patients with brain and nervous system disorders. It will also unite the university’s world-class researchers with its top-ranked physicians. A $185 million gift from philanthropists Joan and Sandy Weill provided the lead investment for the building. In May 2017, the UC Regents approved an additional $141.6 million in external financing and $41 million in campus funding for the project.
The couple indicated their interest in UCSF was nurtured by Sandy Weill’s role as chairman of the executive council of UCSF Health, which includes two hospitals, the medical center and other partner and affiliated hospitals and health care providers throughout the Bay Area.
In announcing the gift, Joan Weill is quoted in an article for UCSF News Center as saying, “It’s an opportunity to better connect the bench and the bedside to make a bigger impact in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, ALS and Parkinson’s – as well as multiple sclerosis and other diseases. In addition, by bringing basic research in psychiatry into the fold of the neurosciences, we can help advance our understanding of mental illness and help remove stigmas associated with mental health, so they can be treated like any other disease of the body.”
Mark Laret, president and CEO of UCSF Health, added in the same article, “This gift means that our patients with neurological diseases will reap the benefits of our integration with UCSF’s research powerhouse.”
A portion of the Institute will be dedicated to UCSF’s Neuroscience Graduate Program, one of the five leading PhD programs in neuroscience, according to US News & World Report.
The new research building will also become home to the UCSF Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, a multidisciplinary research center focused on finding effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
“The opportunity to tightly entwine these many fields is rare,” said Dr. Stephen L. Hauser, inaugural Weill Institute director as well as chair of UCSF’s Department of Neurology. “The barriers between the many disciplines of the neurosciences are quite real, and they do impede progress, but they are historical accidents. The soul of the new Weill Institute is in breaking down these boundaries – bringing together the most talented people in science and in medicine with our patients.”
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On Thursday, January 24, 2019 Biotechnology Calendar Inc. will host a Bioresearch Product Faire on the Mission Bay Campus. On Friday, January 25th a second Biotechnology Vendor Showcase; this one on the UCSF Parnassus campus. Lab equipment suppliers wishing to market products to researchers at UCSF should plan on participating in this well attended event.
Last year, the events at the University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay and Parnassus campuses attracted 594 attendees. Of these attendees, 179 were purchasing agents, professors and post docs, and 94 were lab managers.
To learn more about participating in this events, call (530) 272-6675 visit the following link:
Researchers in San Francisco interested in learning about newest laboratory products should visit the link below. Science professionals are invited attend to this event for free. Save time at the door by pre-registering :