UAB opens $192 million Birmingham research building

UAB opened the eight-story Shelby Biosciences Research Building in Birmingham on Oct. 20, bringing a 228,735-square-foot facility into use. The university says it is designed to bring together research-intensive faculty from the Heersink School of Medicine and Department of Psychology and support biomedical, behavioral and clinical research.

UAB reports a project cost of $192 million, including $152 million in federal funding and a $20 million appropriation from the Alabama Legislature. Those identified amounts total $172 million—about 90% of the reported cost—leaving $20 million, or just over 10%, outside UAB’s announced funding breakdown.

Bham Now reports that the first two floors are for Psychology and floors three through eight are wet-lab space. The dean said UAB hopes to recruit 60 to 80 investigators; that is a recruitment target, not a reported count of hires. UAB says construction finished nine months ahead of schedule.