Photo: A panel discussion at Bisnow’s International Life Sciences & Biotech Conference covered how universities develop partnerships to build innovative new facilities that prepare students for success.
By Charlie Lange
Earlier this month, leaders from the life sciences and biotechnology fields, along with experts in architecture and engineering, real estate and finance, convened in San Diego for Bisnow’s International Life Sciences & Biotech Conference.
Held Sept. 10–11, the event featured speakers, panel discussions and keynote sessions focused on the relationship between scientific institutions and the development and construction teams and strategies necessary to build research facilities.
The “Universities Driving Innovation and Biotech Growth: Attracting, Retaining and Supporting Top Talent, Developing Incubators for Startups and Driving Growth through Partnerships” discussion brought together life science department heads from different California colleges with architects responsible for designing and building the research facilities on their campuses.
The conversation covered how research institutions can work in tandem with A/E firms in securing funding, conceptualizing multi-purpose lab and research spaces, and giving students the resources they need to succeed in the field after graduation.
Moderated by Julie Kilpatrick, Senior Managing Director, Southwest Region, for project management consulting firm Turner & Townsend Heery, the panel included:
- Carmen Domingo, Dean of the College of Science and Engineering, San Francisco State University
- Robert Fagnant, Associate Partner, Syska Hennessy Group
- Tracy Johnson, Dean of Life Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles
- Vlad Pajkic, Partner, ZGF Architects
- Corrine Peek-Asa, Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation, University of California San Diego
- Jeffrey Roberts, Dean of the College of Sciences, San Diego State University
Building for Flexibility
One common topic was the shift from building department-specific facilities to flexible, shared spaces that can host a variety of disciplines and purposes.
“Everybody always asks for flexibility and modularity,” said Pajik, citing recent projects at Johns Hopkins University and UC Davis, where primary spaces were designed as “core labs” with a variety of equipment and purposes in one place. He said these spaces offer room for collaboration between the sciences and are less expensive than building separate facilities.
Peek-Asa added that such facilities allow for institutions to “solve multiple problems at once.”
“It takes the cardiologist sitting next to the engineering student to understand how we can integrate [solutions],” she said.
“We need to have the flexibility to organize people not around what their Ph.D.s are, but around shared problems of interest,” added Roberts. “When you do that, you can make more efficient and more impactful use of space.”
And that flexibility makes for a better investment, as developments in AI and other new technologies will factor into future needs and functions.
“Listening to researchers, they’re young and fired up on using AI,” said Fagnant. “We’re going to have to parlay our data center experience into some of these facilities. AI integration is going to take a lot of interconnectability between building on campus and the outside world.”
New Ways to Find Funding
Exploring the unknown is foundational to scientific research, but with expansive cuts to federal education funding over the past year, universities have been forced into uncharted territory in securing the money to build or renovate facilities to meet ever-evolving needs.
Johnson brought up how challenges with federal funding have led UCLA to seek investment from private sources, including the companies that will eventually be employing the university’s graduates.
Domingo echoed this sentiment. “One of the important things is for industry to realize that the university systems around them will help create the environment for them to be successful. We’re the backbone of the workforce. Investing in a university like ours and in infrastructure that allows us to train students in the types of skillsets they need is important.”
Roberts added that universities could even find positive new opportunities in the current funding environment.
“It’s going force our faculty to think more creatively and broadly about who they need to reach out to, who they need to work with, and what kinds of problems they need to work on,” he said. “Current challenges from a funding perspective will have some positive impact in terms of building deeper, more meaningful and authentic collaborations with industry.”
Setting Students Up for Success
The panelists also stressed the importance of not only building facilities for learning and research, but also for preparing students to apply what they learn in the market after leaving campus.
“One of the keys in our new building was the ability to teach science differently, with studio-style instruction,” Domingo said. “Instead of going to lecture, then going to the lab afterwards, the space allows us to integrate lab and lecture together, so they’re putting into practice what they’re learning.”
Meanwhile, Johnson spoke about UCLA’s incubator programs, which allow students to work directly with startups.
“We are thinking about what it means to build a culture where our students can see the bridge between what they do in the university, in their classrooms and their labs, to ultimately taking their ideas into industry,” said Johnson.
On the topic of real estate, Peek-Asa added how UCSD’s status as the largest residential campus in the nation has kept students closer to their classrooms and has had positive effects in preserving housing in the local market.
“It’s important, because we’re trying to move our students onto campus so they’re not competing in our real estate market for affordable housing,” she said.
Ultimately, the conversation came back to the importance of public-private partnerships in helping universities develop industry leaders of tomorrow.
“Students are local, so if you invest in your local students, they don’t have to move into the area to be part of your workforce — they’re already there,” said Domingo.