UCSF's stem cell research program received a ringing endorsement from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) today with the announcement that CIRM is awarding $34.9 million toward the construction of a stem cell research building on the Parnassus campus. [
See news release.]
The proposed $119 million building, to be located on a steep slope off Medical Center Way, was approved by the UC Regents in March, contingent upon receiving financial support from CIRM.
UCSF Chancellor J. Michael Bishop, MD, described the award as an "unprecedented opportunity" to support scientists in their quest to turn basic research into therapies. Also notable is the new building's location on the Parnassus campus, which has not seen a new research center rise since construction of the Health Sciences towers in the mid-1960s.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom saw the announcement as proof that the city-sponsored effort to recruit the California Institute for Regenerative
Medicine headquarters in 2005 was working to make San Francisco the center of stem cell research in California and the nation. "Today, CIRM's $34.9 million facilities grant to UCSF is not only a realization of that vision, but also recognition that the future of stem cell innovation will happen at UCSF's new Institute for Regeneration Medicine. We are proud that UCSF will continue to lead the way in the search for cures to our world's most challenging diseases."
Bruce Wintroub, MD, chair of the Department of Dermatology and the School of Medicine vice dean who oversees space and clinical program planning, underscored the decision to build the new home for UCSF's Institute for Regeneration Medicine on Parnassus. "Locating the stem cell program at Parnassus means that the research is done in the context of an adult clinical facility and enhances the opportunities for basic, translational and clinical researchers to collaborate," he says.
Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, director of UCSF's Institute for Regeneration Medicine (IRM), also praised the CIRM decision, noting that the planned home for 25 principal investigators will be a boost to an IRM enterprise already recognized for both its past and its promise.
UCSF's stem cell research program consists of dozens of researchers across the Parnassus campus and at other sites. For the last two years, though, its hub has been the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center, which operates without federal funds on the main UCSF campus.
As the research field has matured in the years since UCSF's IRM was founded in 2003, campus leaders realized that continuing progress hinged on a replication of the successful formula devised at UCSF Mission Bay and elsewhere, where like-minded researchers - sometimes from different disciplines - are concentrated in neighborhoods. The program also needed what Kriegstein calls a new "center of gravity."
What's in a Building?
The proposed 74,000-square-foot stem cell research building, designed by New York's Rafael Viñoly, manages to fuse this anchoring and aspiration - as well as the longed-for connectivity - with a split-level design tucked along an irregularly curved plot of land. By ensuring that each floor is only a half level apart, the striking design also manages to enhance the prospects for research, says Kriegstein.
Scientists trying to generate insulin-producing beta cells, for example, will be based near those trying to develop nerve cells because stem cells undergo nearly identical molecular signaling on the path to becoming both cell types. The same organizational principle will place those studying signaling molecules important to the specialization of neural stem cells near scientists studying brain diseases.
Aesthetic and sustainable principles were also paramount in the building's design. Other features include access to generous daylight, reducing reliance on artificial light; an auditorium built into the hillside, which capitalizes on the thermal and acoustic benefits of the soil; and a terraced, green roof that functions as open space for scientists and staff as well as providing additional roofing insulation. This reduces the heat island effect. Water pollution is also reduced, thanks to a stormwater filtering system.
Indeed, the CIRM evaluation of the proposed building was effusive.
"Overall, this is an outstanding building," the CIRM report said. "On an impossible site, the architect has created a breathtaking building that exudes collaboration and interaction. The innovative split-level design allows for easy flow between the labs, and the double stacking of the office over the labs with adjacent break rooms and conference rooms is the perfect example of how a building design can enhance interaction. The result is a building that will set a higher bar for all new laboratory projects."
UCSF's plan has won plaudits from its neighbors as well. Craig Dawson, a member of UCSF's Community Advisory Group and president of the Inner Sunset Merchants, considers the decision to build the Institute for Regeneration Medicine on the Parnassus campus "another example of the long-term commitment that UCSF is making in a location where cutting-edge research continues to take place. What is equally exciting is the innovative design of the institute, which addresses environmental and site concerns to create a state-of-the-art green building that I hope Parnassus neighbors will see more of in the future."
Why UCSF?
CIRM awards were made to other Bay Area institutions as well. But from the co-discovery by Gail Martin of embryonic stem cells in 1981 to the work of Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD, with neural stem cells today, UCSF has continued to garner headlines and make headway. In the last three years alone, for example, UCSF has recruited 16 new faculty members to the IRM.
Why this is so perhaps is best explained by Kriegstein, who points to the collaborative and robust nature of UCSF research and the well-established concentration of brainpower within San Francisco's city limits.
In this context, UCSF's new stem cell research building can be viewed as both an exclamation point and a beacon, a home where science can soar along with the hopes of millions.
