Research Facilities
The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, in conjunction with West Virginia University (WVU), is constructing a state-of-the-art research facility situated in Morgantown, W.Va.
The 78,000-square-foot facility, located on the Health Sciences Center campus, is scheduled for substantial completion in 2007. The BRNI facility will, at full capacity, have the necessary space to support the research activities of up to 125 scientists and staff.
Locating the facility in West Virginia was of particular importance to the Institute. The number one risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is age and West Virginia has the highest average age in the nation. During the next 25 years the state's elderly population is projected to grow by 60 percent.
Construction of the facility began in May 2006 and you are invited to monitor the building progress via our live webcam.
View the construction site webcam here.
BRNI currently occupies 12,000 square feet of multidisciplinary labs at The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and 4,000 square feet of lab space at WVU. These spaces were specifically designed by BRNI and will accommodate the growing needs of the Institute until completion of the new research facility. BRNI's laboratories at WVU include a differential interference contrast near infrared microscope with fluorescence capability for recording and imaging brain cell activity. In addition, BRNI's laboratories at JHU include modern technology from micro array genomics to biochemistry and electrophysiology. A variety of microscopic imaging instruments for the investigation of brain function and structure is used in the study of human memory and memory disorders.