Poised for change, Biodesign at ASU is cutting edge for innovative techniques in research

azcentral.com

Arizona State University's new Biodesign Institute has walls made of brick, glass and steel - the traditional materials you'd expect in a new campus building.

But inside these walls, scientists and students are tearing down the traditional barriers that have constrained research for decades.

Too often, standard operating procedure for a scientist was to focus on one discipline, then spend years in a lab doing things that rarely reached the outside world.

However, at AZ Bio (as the institute is more commonly known), researchers are experts in several areas and work together to develop practical solutions to medical, environmental and national security problems.

Now that they have a new $69 million building, which made its public debut Tuesday, they are poised to churn out innovations. That translates to hundreds of potential local partnerships and thousands of possible jobs, as companies form to send those innovations to market.

In short, AZ Bio is expected to elevate our Valley economy into a whole new realm - one that won't be as dependent on the housing industry or silicon manufacturers to help keep this region humming.

The building - the first of four that will complete the AZ Bio complex - is an open, airy-feeling masterpiece. But the facility near Terrace and Rural roads in Tempe has its shape solely to encourage interaction.

Labs have huge glass windows, no internal walls and no assigned research spaces for professors, allowing the 10 centers that make up the institute to collaborate freely. Experiment tables have wheels for mobility, so all a scientist must do is unplug a desk from the outlets in the ceiling, move it where it's needed and go again.

That's pretty revolutionary, but well-suited to the revolutionary work professors and students are undertaking. Projects already under way include combating cancer and AIDS, rehabilitating stroke victims, dealing with increased urbanization, reducing our reliance on petroleum and increasing our national security.

At the core are world-renowned directors, leading their staffs to understand the biological and chemical processes at work in our cells, or manipulating atoms and developing innovations smaller than the width of a human hair.

Their efforts have already pulled in more than $500 million in start-up investments, signaling a lucrative future for ASU research - and prestige.

The expectations are high for creative efforts inside this space, as they should be. By approving an additional sales tax through Proposition 301, voters earmarked millions to build AZ Bio. That means we all have a stake in the creative processes under way.

ASU is up for the challenge. As Dr. George Poste, the institute's director, promised during Tuesday's dedication ceremony: "We will not let you down."