USA Breaks Ground On College Of Medicine, Gets Grant For SABRC

The University of South Alabama (USA) recently broke ground on a new 250,000-ft2 Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine building that the university said will allow it to graduate more physicians and accelerate research and innovation. The $200-million facility, to be completed in 2026, will round out a medical education hub on campus that includes the College of Nursing, Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions, Health Simulation Building and Charles M. Baugh Biomedical Library. The new building is to provide advanced laboratory spaces that will create flexibility and efficiency for research. It will also allow for expanding the class size of first-year medical students from 80 to 100, with the capability of increasing to 120 in the future. Key stakeholders include the federal government ($60 million), the USA Foundation ($30 million), the state ($50 million), the City of Mobile ($10 million) and Mobile County ($5 million). When the new building opens, more than 500,000 ft2 of campus facilities will be dedicated to healthcare education and research.Additionally, USA and scientist Dr. Jonathan Rayner were recently named inaugural designees of the Innovate Alabama Network, a new resource to connect and foster innovation in communities, nonprofits and higher-education institutions across the state. Rayner, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at USA’s Whiddon College of Medicine and director of its Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, received a $125,000 award to help fund the proposed South Alabama Biotechnology Research Center (SABRC). The primary objective of the center will be to solidify USA as the hub for biotechnology research and development on the Gulf Coast by officially offering contract research services in biomedical research to government and industry partners, in addition to academic collaborators. Other goals for the SABRC include helping Mobile become the biotechnology hub for the Alabama Gulf Coast; promoting innovative technologies to improve human health; and providing unique learning opportunities to further prepare the area’s workforce with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to support translational research and product development.