Thomas Jefferson University has determined that Jefferson Alumni Hall (JAH), which was constructed in 1968, has at least 40 more years of useful life from the perspective of its structural integrity. However, the laboratories require renovation to meet modern standards. Equally important, the overall laboratory design reflects an outmoded philosophy of single principal investigator labs with minimal open interaction space, shared equipment zones or common resource spaces. This inefficiency reduces scientific progress while increasing utilization of precious financial and energy resources. Finally, the fundamental infrastructure in JAH, specifically life safety, HVAC, electrical, security, telecommunications, and information technology, are obsolete and need renovation. We propose in this Facilities Modernization application to renovate the West Wing of the 3rd floor of JAH, 18,557 net assignable square feet (30% of the current floor footprint) into modern wet bench laboratories, while updating the infrastructure to meet or exceed current NIH regulations and codes. These new labs will house the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Each Department has a substantial NIH grant portfolio, and is seeking to recruit new faculty researchers. These Departments also play major roles in the University's Research Strategic Plan. The current layout of lab space is a limiting factor in both recruitment and scientific collaboration. By reconfiguring existing space, we project our new capacity will allow for the recruitment of 50% more faculty and increase the space available for scientific staff by a factor of 3. Successful completion of this project will improve scientific productivity, generate an increase in employed scientific staff, and improve resource utilization in an environmentally responsible way. The project will also create design and construction jobs. The resulting increase in scientific employment is also coupled to an increase in jobs both within the University in support areas, and in the community external to the University in suppliers and other vendors.
