Tulane University’s Hutchinson Memorial Building downtown has undergone a $35 million renovation to create a new lab spanning two floors and almost 50,000 square feet.
President Michael Fitts joined School of Medicine leaders to celebrate the completion of the lab renovations on Jan. 14. The development is part of Tulane’s growing presence in downtown New Orleans, which also includes the university’s planned multi-million dollar redevelopment of the former Charity Hospital.
The renovation upgraded approximately 50,000 square feet across the fifth and seventh floors.
Both floors underwent full demolition and reconstruction to create modern laboratory facilities. Combined, the two floors will accommodate over two dozen lead researchers and their teams.
Dr. Lee Hamm, senior vice president and dean of the Tulane School of Medicine, said that the Hutchinson project had a transformative impact on both the university’s research infrastructure and patient outcomes in the Gulf South.
The development “creates a center where you have clinical people, in some cases clinical scientists, working with basic researchers,” Hamm said. “You’re building a research ecosystem that can directly impact people.”
Hamm said the new labs will target the largest research areas: cardiovascular and neurologic diseases, such as stroke and dementia. They will also have a space for in silico research, where students and researchers use genetic and biochemical population databases to identify patterns in disease.
“[We] collect a bunch of data, and then by putting the information together using the powerful computing that we have today — and in some cases artificial intelligence — [we] can uncover disease pathways that we didn’t understand previously,” Hamm said.
Hamm said that the Tulane Innovation Institute played a crucial role in funding downtown campus development, including the Hutchinson project, by connecting innovations with investor networks. The downtown projects are also supported by key partnerships, including the Downtown Development District and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center.
The renovation integrated new mechanical, engineering and plumbing systems into the building’s existing infrastructure. Completed over a 14-month period, the project was designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver standards, a nationally recognized framework for energy-efficient construction.