Building for the future at Nova
University’s high-tech medical research center brings diverse disciplines together
Nova Southeastern University soon will be a major player in the study of cancer, heart disease and environmental issues with the opening of a $100million high-tech research center on Wednesday.
More than 150 researchers will work at the center, a 215,000-square-foot, sixstory building on the Davie campus.
Two years under construction, the Center for Collaborative Research houses numerous labs and a fully equipped clinic to accommodate research trials.
Researchers with backgrounds in health care, biotech, cybersecurity, technology and business will be able to pool resources with students and the private sector, President George L. Hanbury said.
“This will provide our world-class team of researchers with the tools they need to continue to make discoveries that will impact the way we all live,” Hanbury said. “From developing new cancer treatments to finding new methods for environmental sustainability, the possibilities are endless.”
In one lab, pharmaceutical researcher Appu Rathinavelu is studying compounds found in plants and algae in the Everglades, which may help improve chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients. He’s working with faculty from Florida International University in Miami and Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
“For me, this facility is a dream come to
true for my research. It’s one of the most state-of-the-art in all of Florida,” he said.
Faculty at the new complex with also collaborate with scientists at NSU’s Ocean Campus in Dania Beach, which opened in 2012 to marine biology research.
“One of the major things we’re doing is looking at how cancer is not that prevalent in sharks, and they also heal quicker,” Hanbury said.
The partnerships go beyond Florida. Nova has a new collaboration with the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Sweden for stem cell research. Five researchers from Sweden have joint appointments at NSU.
The center houses the Autonation Institute for Breast and Solid Tumor Cancer Research, named after the Fort Lauderdalebased auto retailer, which donated more than $10 million to the university. A research lab within the institute is named for IndyCar driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, whose charity Racing for Cancer donated $500,000.
In addition to cancer, researchers are taking part in studies releated to heart disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, autism, coral reef restoration, stem cells, disorders that cause blindness, wildlife and other areas.
NSU has made a big push toward expanding its presence in research and medical education. It already has a doctor of osteopathic medicine school and is creating a new traditional doctor of medicine, or M.D., program starting in 2018.
The university also plans to be a major part of a new HCA Healthcare hospital, scheduled to open on the campus in 2019. NSU researchers, physicians and students will work in the hospital, which will replace Plantation General Hospital, officials said.
“We want South Florida to become a major destination for health care,” Hanbury said. “We’re right in the center of a geographic hub of 6million people with three major airports in the region.”
Florida has pushed for biomedical research since 2003, when the state and Palm Beach County spent more than $500 million to recruit The Scripps Research Institute, a California biotech research giant.
Scripps opened a branch on the Jupiter campus of Florida Atlantic University in 2004, and The Max Planck Florida Institute opened next door a few years later. FAU and FIU have also opened medical schools in the past few years.
The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has expanded its biotech research in the past decade and opened a Life Science& Technology Park in 2011. The 252,000-square-foot building houses labs, offices, lab-ready development suites and retail space.