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The BWH Biomedical Research Institute is getting a new look. The BRI welcomed six new members to its Research Oversight Committee (ROC), unveiled its new intranet site and detailed plans for new research space Tuesday before the research community.
“This truly is an exciting time,” Thomas Kupper, MD, chairman of Dermatology and BRI director, said during Tuesday’s BRI Faculty Research Forum Kick Off. “The BRI is enhancing the overall environment for research at Brigham and Women’s, fostering scientific affinity interaction among investigators, laboratories and departments and maximizing funding opportunities.”
Kupper announced the newly elected members of the ROC, the BRI’s primary leadership committee charged with evaluating priorities and identifying opportunities. Matthew LaVoie, PhD, and David Soybel, MD, were elected to the ROC to represent basic research; Selwyn Rogers Jr., MD, and Michael Conte, MD, to represent clinical research; and Christine Albert, MD, MPH, and Dan Solomon, MD, MPH, to represent population science. These new members join department, center, program and platform representatives on the ROC along with BWH and PHS leadership, who serve as ex officio members.
Also, the BRI staged a soft launch this week of its new intranet site for the research community, available at http://bwhbriresearchintranet.partners.org/ The site will formally launch in the fall. This new research intranet and its accompanying set of tools will make it easier for the research community to access and share information and will empower members of the research community to actively manage their content internally and externally. Training for the Interowoven content management system will begin in June for research groups. Contact Charlie Yi at cyi@partners.org for more information.
Lastly, Barbara Bierer, MD, senior vice president for Research, shared a project update on construction plans for converting the Massachusetts Mental Health site into a state-of-the art research facility for the BRI community. “In five years, we’ll celebrate the opening of a fantastic new building,” she said.
BRI leaders are working with the project developers on a building master plan and floor plans for the 12-story facility that will add 233,000 square feet of wet laboratory space, 93,000 square feet of dry lab and office space and 295 underground parking spaces. While initial local approvals are in place, the complex permitting process is projected to take two years, with construction scheduled to begin in May 2008.
Tuesday’s forum featured guest speaker Stephen J. Elledge, PhD, who presented, “Adventures in Mammalian Genetics.” He detailed his lab’s efforts to knock down gene expressions. Elledge was the first speaker in the BRI’s monthly series.