The UI is the only public institution in the State of Idaho with the principal responsibility for performing research and granting the Ph.D. Degree. Research funding at UI totals $86 million annually, up from $16 million in the 1980's. Recently, National Institutes of Health (NIH) support for biomedical research at the UI has grown from $1.1 million annually to over $6 million annually. This increase is due to R01 and R15 awards, and to UI's recent Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) and Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN) awards. During the next four years, the Departments of Biological Sciences, Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry will recruit a combined 13 research-active faculty members. There currently is not enough research space to fully accommodate them. Therefore, the UI seeks $2 million in NIH support toward the renovation of its Life Sciences Facility (LSF) as a primary step in strengthening its biomedical research capacity and competitiveness. The majority of space available for expansion is currently underutilized as teaching laboratories and storage. This space is currently unsuitable for research because it completely lacks the basic infrastructure required for contemporary research laboratories. This $5.35 million top-priority renovation project ($2 million in NIH-funds, along with $3.35 million form UI) will result in eight modern research laboratories (a net gain of five) plus faculty offices, and updated heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC); plumbing; and electrical systems. This project will meet Ul's short-term need for modern research space to support biomedical research and research training and allow the next step towards adding a new wing to the LSF.
