Latest Reports

The nation’s academic biomedical research facilities are largely unprepared for natural and man-made disasters that could damage buildings, equipment, IT systems, and materials, and ultimately jeopardize research and scientific careers. A recently released study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for institutions and scientists to focus on risk assessment and resilience planning to secure their capital and research investments. In order to do that successfully, institutions need to expand their emergency response and recovery plans and think beyond current building codes, which focus on the life safety needs of the occupants but have yet to account for the significant risks posed to their research programs.

Laboratories that handle potentially hazardous or flammable chemicals present a unique challenge for facilities managers charged with providing a safe work environment for students, faculty, and researchers. Jonathan Eisenberg, a fire protection engineer and associate principal in the Boston office of the global engineering and consulting firm Arup, has identified a number of focus areas, ranging from items you might expect (using the appropriate fire suppression methods), to those you might overlook (ensuring that the humidity level is high enough so that people don’t generate sparks from static electricity). It’s important for facilities managers to understand each of the potential risks and to take steps to mitigate them with careful planning, adherence to basic fire safety principles, and the application of recently developed tools and techniques.

To produce more food for more people with fewer resources, due to climate change and population growth, agricultural bioscience research will need to adopt new research models, including interdisciplinary projects and corporate partnerships, to help fast-track product discovery and development. Timing will be important. “When I first started in agriculture, if you came up with a new corn hybrid, it could be 10 or 12 years before you would grow that hybrid commercially,” says Stephen Briggs, launch director for the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative. “You can’t afford to do that in a 12-year timeframe now. You have to shorten that to two or three years.

Founded at the intersection of health science and education, the Henderson County Health Sciences Center is building bridges between patients, students, and healthcare professionals. The three-story facility provides an enhanced experience for patients through a complex network of professionals working together. The facility is the result of a strategic partnership between Pardee Hospital, Blue Ridge Community College, Wingate University, and Henderson County. Henderson County coordinated and funded the project through a public-private partnership that expands space, funds, and resources for the three entities and the surrounding community.

The new 39-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Beacon Children’s Hospital in South Bend, Ind., features enhanced single-family rooms (SFR) and couplet care rooms (CCR), two new room designs that expand clinical functionality and family accommodation in the NICU. The hospital’s NICU staff holds the conviction that babies belong with their parents whenever possible, and desired to make this practice available not only in the SFRs but also for postpartum mothers who are still patients. Previously, some mildly ill or premature babies were taken to the mother’s postpartum room to accomplish this, but most babies were not eligible due to the severity of their illness. Both types of rooms in the new NICU are designed to accommodate mothers who are still patients immediately after birth. This facilitates early bonding between mother and child, which historically has been limited during the first few days of a NICU baby’s life.