Wistar to be institute's first home

When James Wilson and his 12-person research team arrive at the University in March to head the world's first gene therapy institute, they will have to work in borrowed space across the street from their eventual home. The University Trustees have approved a Medical School plan to renovate approximately 5,000 square feet of laboratory space in the Wistar Institute to accomodate Wilson for about two and a half years. The renovations are expected to cost $2.1 million. According to Medical School Vice Dean for Research Arthur Asbury, the gene therapy institute's eventual home will be in the new Biomedical Research Building 1, which is currently under construction. Biomedical Research Building 1 is the medical center's $60 million facility which is being constructed next to Blockley Hall. The building, which will contain approximately 200,000 square feet of space, is designed to facilitate the sharing of equipment and expertise between researchers in different fields. The facility will house research programs in cancer, aging, cardiovascular disease, genetics and gene therapy. According to Asbury, providing such research facilities is the medical center's primary responsiblity. The research projects themselves are supported largely with grants from outside sources, he said. "In the short run, the Medical Center does things like renovating laboratories and hiring people to get them started buying equipment," Asbury said. "Dr. Wilson will bring with him a large amount of grant support," Asbury said, adding that the gene therapy institute will be supported largely by outside funding sources such as the National Institutes of Health. The institute, which was announced in December by Med School Dean William Kelley, will be the first in the country devoted to studying gene therapy with a focus on the treatment of human disease. Wilson, currently at the University of Michigan, is one of three researchers nationwide authorized to perform gene therapy experiments on humans. No H&J; required. Do not bother inserting ! -- Michael Center ultimately to move to new $60-million research building