The Biomedical Research Center is a two-story 25,000 square foot building dedicated to biomedical research. The Biomedical Research Center will be a genuine national resource: a state-of-the-art, interdisciplinary, research facility situated on the campus of Hampton University.
Specifically, 10,000 sq. ft. will be utilized by researchers from the Center for Advanced Medical Instrumentation (CAMI), and collaborators whose projects present significant technological symbiosis. This will include radiological medicine detector development laboratories, to include electronics and data acquisition support from nuclear physics. One of these laboratories will be dedicated specifically to Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology, a novel new technique that can be applied to radiotherapy beam characterization, portal imaging, dose monitoring, breast cancer diagnostic imaging, and other areas. Another will be for more general detector development, such as one current project to develop a monitor capable of imaging the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute proton beam in vivo during therapeutic treatments. Other CAMI laboratories will be for medical modeling and simulation, including an area dedicated to improving commercial radiotherapy treatment planning and another to GEANT4 Monte Carlo algorithm development.
Researchers from the School of Nursing will use 4,000 sq. ft. to assist in developing protocols with the other departments, and in cross-over bio-behavioral research. CAMI researchers, as an example of the latter, will work with nursing researchers in one of the laboratories to develop a feedback matrix for minimizing organ and tumor motion in radiotherapy delivery. Relaxation techniques will be designed, monitored, and evaluated by nursing, while tumor motion control will be designed, monitored, and evaluated with CAMI technology. In addition to collaborating with CAMI researchers, selected principal investigators from nursing are involved in planning the following research projects for the new construction. Many of the projects can be conducted in the nursing 4000 sq. ft. or in the interdisciplinary laboratories within the building.
Researchers from the Department of Pharmacy will utilize 4,000 sq. ft. of space to work with CAMI researchers on the development of radio-sensitizing and radio-resistant pharmaceuticals to assist in cancer radiotherapy. Pharmacy and CAMI have significant interdisciplinary cross-over as well in the use of NMR and other advanced imaging equipment, which will be housed in the building. Researchers in the School of Pharmacy are involved in several biomedical research projects that are designed to improve the quality of life of patients who suffer from diseases such as keloids, Alzheimer’s, pulmonary fibrosis, and alcohol and nicotine addiction. In pursuit of these goals, the following projects will be explored in the new Biomedical Research Center.
Researchers from the Department of Biological Sciences will utilize 2,000 sq. ft. of space to work with CAMI and Pharmacy researchers on the development of new methods and techniques to improve cancer therapies and to conduct research and training in genomics and bioinformatics. Researchers in the Department of Biological Sciences are involved in several biomedical research projects that are designed to improve the quality of life of patients who suffer from diseases such as cancer, metabolic disorders including diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
The NIH Biomedical Research Center is LEED Certified.
