U of Utah to Open New $36M School of Dentistry Building

35 years in the making, the grand opening was recently announced for then new University of Utah School of Dentistry (SOD) Ray and Tye Noorda Oral Health Sciences Building.

The new $36 million, 85,000-square-foot Research Park building will include 

62 dental operatories, pediatric and oral dentistry suites, a 100-seat auditorium, three 50-seat tiered classrooms, two 52-seat laboratories, offices for faculty and staff, and an expansive reception area, according to a university press release. (image credit: Utah.edu)

Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., senior vice president for health sciences, said, “Thanks to the great generosity of Ray and Tye Noorda and their children, our School of Dentistry now has the facilities both to provide an outstanding education for future dentists and to advance discovery in oral health science. With the best dental students in the country, we expect to become one of the nation’s top dental programs while serving the people of Utah and those who cannot afford dental care. We are honored to steward this mission."

The development of the new SOD Ray and Tye Noorda Oral Health Sciences Building stems from the University’s Regional Dental Education Program (RDEP), started with federal funding in 1980 by G. Lynn Powell, D.D.S.

Glen Hanson, D.D.S., Ph.D., U of U professor of pharmacology and interim dean of the School of Dentistry said, “We’ve had the academic skills and credentials for years to have a dental school but without the generosity of the Ray and Tye Noorda family, a place like this isn’t possible. Our students now have a sense of identity and home – a place where they can put on their dental student cap and truly realize their visions of becoming dentists.”

The grand opening of the new building is set to commence at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, 2015, with the ribbon cutting at 2:30 and a reception and open house to follow.

In addition to funding for this impressive new building expansion, researchers at University of Utah are well funded for a variety of projects at other leading research centers and institutions.

For example:

• An official groundbreaking ceremony for a new 220,000-square-foot, $105 million expansion in the Primary Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah was held recently. The construction is slated for completion in 2016 and is doubling the research space within the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

• The University of Utah has been awarded $20.4 million by NIH to advance translational research in medicine specifically into research relating to spinal muscular dystrophy.

• University of Utah received a $2.96 million grant from both the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health for innovative research that will shed new light on the genes that cause Down syndrome, as well as the defects of brain development and function that lead to intellectual disability.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in annual funding supports the many life science departments and labs of the University of Utah, making it a premium marketplace for lab suppliers to display and promote products.

Each year, Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. hosts a product faire event that brings together more than 100 researchers, lab managers, PI's, professors, post docs, grad students, and purchasing agents with laboratory suppliers in one location for a table-top product show.

This year, we are proud to host the 15th Annual BioResearch Product Faire™ Event at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, on October 29, 2015. 

To learn more about participating in the upcoming October BioResearch Product Faire™ in Salt Lake City, click below: