NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine has opened a new medical research facility that will house a variety of studies that will involve genomics, DNA sequencing, and proteomics efforts.
VCU held a ribbon-cutting on Friday for the $71.5 million, eight-story, 125,000 square-foot lab space, which includes an auditorium, a seminar space, and teleconference facilities.
The Molecular Medicine Research Building will conduct cancer research, studies of infections in transplant cases, and investigations of alcoholism and opiate addiction, among others, according to VCU. These studies may focus on identifying patients who are at risk for these and other diseases.
For example, specific genomics studies could entail using DNA microarrays to identify areas of the brain that are involved in alcohol addiction and the susceptibility of liver transplant patients to infection with hepatitis C, a VCU spokesperson told GenomeWeb Daily News.