Alterations and Renovations

Laboratory research space at the University of New England (UNE) Biddeford Campus is currently at capacity, impeding new faculty recruitment and preventing the establishment of a new In Vitro Analytical Core (IVAC) facility necessary to support COBRE Research Project Leaders. The UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine will vacate the gross anatomy

teaching laboratories located in the Alfond Center for Health Sciences (ACHS) on the Biddeford Campus when they

relocate to a new facility in Portland Maine in 2024. UNE will renovate the vacated gross anatomy laboratories to create almost 5,000 square feet of research laboratory space in support of the Center for Cell Signaling Research (CCSR). The renovated space will support the CCSR by housing the new IVAC, additional faculty PI laboratories, and the existing

Histology and Imaging Core. Relocating the Histology and Imaging Core facility from its current location in two separate research buildings to one site that is adjacent to the IVAC will increase efficiencies and create key synergies between

these two research cores. It will also free up highly coveted research space in the Pickus Biomedical Research Center for new CCSR faculty recruitment. Importantly, the COBRE Research Project Leaders (RPLs) will directly benefit from these renovations; all four RPLs plan to utilize the IVAC and the Histology and Imaging Core in their research, with some

investigators relying exclusively on access to the shared cell culture faculty that will be created within the IVAC. Significant institutional support has been committed to the Alterations & Renovations (A&R) plan. Construction is already underway for the new College of Osteopathic Medicine building, ensuring the availability of the anatomy

laboratories for the proposed renovations. An architectural firm with expertise in laboratory design has been retained to develop the schematic level plans included in this submission. A&R funds are requested to support the purchase of items from the List of Allowable Major Equipment (e.g., laboratory fume hoods). Additional costs associated with the

renovations, including all demolition and construction, estimated at over $1,300,000, will be covered by UNE.

Renovations will include demolition followed by construction that includes new walls, flooring, plumbing, and electrical work. Installation of allowable major equipment includes laboratory benches and casework, fume hoods, biological safety

cabinets, incubators, ice machine, and distilled water/purification system. The proposed renovations are critical for the

success of the CCSR, increasing space for core research facilities as well as individual laboratories. Cell culture rooms located within the IVAC will greatly increase capacity for conducting experiments proposed by the Research Project Leaders. Locating the IVAC and Histology and Imaging Core in contiguous space allows for greater efficiencies, access

and oversight of sensitive instrumentation. The creation of individual research laboratories will allow for the recruitment

of new research active faculty. The decision by UNE’s president to seize the opportunity created by the imminent move of the medical school to renovate the gross anatomy labs in support of a new COBRE demonstrates a clear commitment to building research capacity.