$8 million cancer research facility to open at Tuskegee University
As early as next summer, Tuskegee University plans to move the needle in cancer genomics — the study of DNA sequence and gene expression differences between tumor cells and normal cells.
With a $7.93 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the university will build a new biomedical annex to its Carver Research Center to focus on cancer research and health disparities in underrepresented populations.
“This award is recognition for the dedicated effort of the faculty, staff and students within the Center for Biomedical Research to eradicate health disparities, particularly in Alabama Black Belt,” Center for Biomedical Research director Dr. Clayton Yates said in a statement. “Students, particularly African-Americans and other underrepresented minorities, will receive training to become excellent biomedical research scientists, significantly benefitting from this state-of-the-art enhancement.”
Yates hopes that the new facility will lead to more publications, proposals and collaborations across the cancer research field for Tuskegee.
Booker T. Washington founded the historically Black university in 1881 with the purpose of educating Black teachers. Since then, the school has expanded its mission to include educating students for careers in the sciences, architecture, business and engineering. It also forged a path in bioethics for HBCUs.
Tuskegee formed its National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care in response to the violations committed during the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.
“Tuskegee has a long, rich history as an advocate for research and healthcare for the underserved community,” university president Charlotte Morris said in a statement. “What this grant will do by funding a new facility to support our work around cancer research cannot be understated. Tuskegee’s efforts to understand cancer genomics will impact generations within this community and beyond.”
The grant will fund the creation of a 8,600-square-foot biomedical research building. It will be a space for Tuskegee University scientists to research genomics related to health disparities.
The university also hopes the new facility will allow it to expand the number of research faculty, post-doctoral fellows, undergraduate and graduate students engaged in biomedical research in Tuskegee.
“This is the first time TU has received an infrastructure grant of this size in a competitive arena and only the second science building to be built in the past 30 years and a third one in the past 70 years,” dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Channapatna Prakash said. “This building will be transformational in providing a 21st century science setting for our cancer genomics research and will help attract top talent as well.”
Construction will begin in the summer of 2023, and the university estimates the project will be complete by the spring of 2025.
Hadley Hitson covers the rural South for the Montgomery Advertiser and Report for America. She can be reached athhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser or donate to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Tuskegee University receives $7.93 million for cancer research facility
