Celebrating the School of Medicine’s 40th anniversary are (from left) University of Texas System Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Kenneth I. Shine, M.D.; UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.; Nobel Laureate Michael S. Brown, M.D.; Health Science Center Presidential Finalist William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP; Department of Medicine Chair David Hillis, M.D., FACP; Acting School of Medicine Dean Glenn A. Halff, M.D.
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SAN ANTONIO (May 5, 2009) — The scientific discourse that moves discoveries from labs to patients’ bedsides was the theme May 5 as the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio welcomed Nobel Laureate Michael Brown, M.D., for a School of Medicine 40th anniversary lecture and unveiled the cornerstone of the Health Science Center’s newest research building, the $150-million South Texas Research Facility (STRF).

Dr. Brown’s research on cholesterol
At the noon lecture in front of a standing-room-only audience, Dr. Brown spoke about his longtime collaboration with fellow UT Southwestern Medical Center faculty member Joseph Goldstein, M.D. Their labs’ discussions resulted in foundational findings about the biochemical and genetic mechanisms that regulate the level of cholesterol in blood and cells. Those findings led to the development of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, widely used today.

For their work, Drs. Brown and Goldstein were awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Related story: STRF funding another example of collaboration

Dr. Brown discussed siblings who were genetically predisposed to have enormously high levels of cholesterol. The children built up excess cholesterol throughout the body and suffered heart attacks at a young age. This clinical observation sparked questions that led to research discoveries.

Dr. Brown focused on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which, when too high in blood and cells on a chronic basis, escalates the risk of heart attacks. The risk can be lowered somewhat through medicines or diet, but scientists are looking for new ways to eliminate it, he said.

The lecture highlighted the good ideas and effective innovations that can come when clinicians who treat health problems partner with bench researchers to study the molecules, proteins and genes underlying the conditions. That theme continued in the afternoon at the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute, where leaders gathered for the STRF ceremony.

South Texas Research Facility expected to draw international researchers
The STRF, 200,000 square feet of labs on the Greehey Academic and Research Campus at 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, is expected to bring additional internationally renowned scientists to the city, result in new therapies and technologies to enhance the health of South Texas communities, create hundreds of well-paying jobs in the biomedical sector, and, as one leader said, “change the face of biomedical research in San Antonio.”

Among those dedicating the cornerstone for the South Texas Research Facility were (from left) UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.; Presidential Finalist William L. Henrich, M.D.; Nobel Laureate Michael S. Brown, M.D.; Brian Herman, Ph.D., Health Science Center vice president for research; and UT System Regent William Eugene “Gene” Powell.

Largest local research building
The STRF will be one of the largest research buildings ever constructed in San Antonio. Rather than consisting of multiple stories, the STRF will be two-tenths of a mile long, gently curved to match the contour of Floyd Curl Drive and to provide a focal entry to the Greehey Academic and Research Campus. The building will consist of a single, continuous floor of laboratories to foster interdisciplinary collaboration; this floor of labs will be one story above ground level. The STRF will boast about 1,000 feet of roof (the length of three football fields), and the Health Science Center is working with City Public Service on energy-efficient solar panels for the building.

Translational research key to scientific future
UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., said translational research is “the key to our scientific future and to our great state of Texas. It is at the very heart of science, and is an intricately woven network of experts fostering bench-to-bedside collaboration.”

The Health Science Center was awarded the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) last year by the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Cigarroa noted. The CTSA is providing $26 million in infrastructure support, scientific training and research enhancement that specifically focus on translational and clinical research.

“Only select institutions are awarded this grant,” Dr. Cigarroa said.

UT Regent Gene Powell authorized STRF’s construction
Gene Powell of San Antonio, who recently began a six-year term on the UT System Board of Regents, officially authorized STRF construction on behalf of the board. He said he is looking forward to the day when he will walk through the labs of the STRF and witness Nobel Laureate-quality research and the preparation of student-scientists. “I am so proud that all of you share in the UT System’s commitment to build a better Texas,” Regent Powell said. “I must say, this will truly be a magnificent powerhouse for research that will bring prominence to South Texas and our entire state for decades to come.”

STRF being built in the heart of HSC’s research and clinical buildings
Underscoring the theme of collaboration, the STRF is being constructed next to the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute, where research is conducted on various aspects of pediatric cancers with the goal of applying the findings to cancers in general. The STRF will also be next to the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the UT Health Science Center, the longtime premier academic cancer center in San Antonio that became part of the Health Science Center in December 2007.

The STRF is also situated near the Robert F. McDermott Clinical Science Building, home to the institution’s Research Imaging Center and other research areas, and the School of Health Professions Building. Directly across the street will be the $100 million Medical Arts and Research Center, the new clinical home of the School of Medicine multispecialty practice group called UT Medicine San Antonio. This building, including an ambulatory center, will open in phases this year.

“The South Texas Research Facility’s close proximity to the Medical Arts and Research Center is certain to fuel translational research, thereby moving discoveries from the lab bench to use in our communities,” said William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, sole finalist for the presidency of the UT Health Science Center.

STRF to change face of research in San Antonio
Brian A. Herman, Ph.D., the Health Science Center’s vice president for research, described the program of research expected to take place in the STRF, and recognized several of the leading scientists who are among the many outstanding faculty at the Health Science Center. He predicted more top researchers would be recruited because of the new building. “The South Texas Research Facility literally will change the face of research in San Antonio,” he said.

Dr. Brown reinforced the collaboration theme. “It is through the friction of scientists arguing that great discoveries come,” he said at the unveiling.

Rafael Viñoly, the internationally renowned architect who designed the STRF, discussed the future building’s unique qualities. Mike Vaughn represented Vaughn Construction Co., the general contractor building the STRF, which is projected for completion in 2011.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $668 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $16.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $36 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 25,600 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and other health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, dentistry and many other fields. For more information, visit www.uthscsa.edu.