University of Minnesota

The final component of the Biomedical Discovery District research campus, the facility consolidates infectious disease research and drug discovery currently located in sites scattered throughout the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses. Over half of the 80,000-sf building comprises wet and dry research laboratories; core laboratory facilities including flow cytometry; and collaboration “hotel” space, offices and support areas.

Flexible laboratories house 12 principal investigators as well as another dozen visiting faculty, junior researchers and swing space for grant applications. The visiting faculty include researchers in immunology, pediatric infectious diseases, animal husbandry and drug discovery.

Laboratory planning focused on collaborative research using core equipment shared by the researchers. The elimination of duplicate equipment removes common encumbrances from the bench space. Additional benefits include a more efficient building, increased interaction between the researchers and the ability to cluster areas with high-intensity mechanical requirement.

Specialized labs include an HIV Protocol suite (BSL2 with special plan and construction features) and a Flex Protocol suite (BSL2/BSL3).