July 16, 2010 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Pharmaceutical Sciences building also marks the future home for the Centre for High-Throughput Phenogenomics—a $9.4 million expansion to Dentistry’s existing imaging facility, funded by contributions from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the BC Knowledge Development Fund (Impressions, fall 2009).

Originally planned for Dentistry’s John B. Macdonald Building, the bioimaging facility will now be housed with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD). The new building will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification standards.

Credit: SAUCIER + PERROTTE ARCHITECTES | HUGHES CONDON MARLER ARCHITECTS
Architects in Joint Venture

The bioimaging equipment slated for this centre includes a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope, a white light laser confocal microscope, optical projection tomography, a MALDI LTQ Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometer and a variety of in vivo and in vitro micro-CT scanners. All equipment requires a purpose-built environment to accommodate the scientific functions and will be supported with high-volume data storage and analysis. A full-time scientific director will oversee the development of novel 3D analysis methodologies.

The core research personnel—a unique assembly of top researchers drawn from multiple disciplines—represent the UBC faculties of dentistry, medicine and pharmaceutical sciences. This more central location will enhance research and crossdiscipline collaborations in the areas of hard tissue development and degradation and will support the development of novel treatment approaches utilizing new drug therapies.