CAMPUS BRIEFS: New medical research building completed and dedicated this month.

The $148 million Biomedical Research Building 2/3 -- which was completed on schedule and $1 million below budget -- represents the completion of the first part of the Health System's 1991 facilities upgrade plan and will provide new labs and workspace for scientists. The 384,000 square-foot building will house research facilities and laboratories for the study of the biology of cancer, gene therapy and reproductive biology. Many important Penn research programs will soon call BRB 2/3 home, including the Institute for Human Gene Therapy, the Abramson Family Cancer Institute, the Developmental Biology program and the Center for Research on Reproduction and Women's Health. The building also includes a 250-seat auditorium, seminar rooms, a medical bookstore and a cafe operated by Au Bon Pain. BRB 2/3 is located behind the Quadrangle next to the Stellar-Chance building, which opened in 1995 and was originally called BRB 1. "[The facility] added a huge amount of new state-of-the-art research space to the Medical School," Tannen said. Tannen called the facility "a very efficiently designed building," stressing that the building has a higher percentage of space dedicated to research areas than many other buildings. --Karlene Hanko