Van Andel Institute (VAI) has expanded its 240,000 square foot facility with an investment of $178m on December 8, 2009. The expanded facility creates economic and scientific opportunity both for VAI and West Michigan’s burgeoning life sciences sector and adds to the more than $1 billion investment in infrastructure already in place along Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile.
The expansion will support a $125m annual research operation that expands the number of laboratories from the current 18 to more than 50, and provides the capacity for 550 additional jobs.
Phase II is said to triple current laboratory space and will increase the Institute’s capacity to impact human health through an expansion of its current basic and translational cancer research, and neurological diseases such as parkinson’s and alzheimer’s through an endowed chair and the new $4.2m Jay Van Andel Parkinson Research Laboratory.
This increased capacity is enhanced by a number of key partnerships including an alliance and affiliation agreement with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) of Phoenix, and expanded research opportunities provided by the new regional medical school, the Michigan State University (MSU) College of Human Medicine, which opens in 2010 on an adjacent site.
Jeffrey Trent, president and research director at VARI, said: “The research and recruitment ability the Phase II expansion provides will have a dramatic impact toward understanding disease and improving patient care. Our increased research capacity coupled with our local, national, and international collaborations in basic, translational, and clinical research greatly increases the likelihood of discovering new ways to treat patients.”
Lou Anna Simon, president of Michigan State University, said: “Van Andel Institute’s Phase II expansion enhances an already impressive research program and adds to West Michigan’s significant investment in life sciences infrastructure. Through the collaborative efforts of VAI, the MSU College of Human Medicine and others, I am confident that this regional initiative will have a major impact on translating cutting-edge biomedical discoveries into improved treatments for patients.”