Burnham Institute officially dedicates its new research facility at Lake Nona

Oct 9 2009

Today, Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) officially dedicated its new 175,000-square-foot scientific facility and marked the opening of Orlando’s Medical City as a life science center. Burnham at Lake Nona is the research anchor for the new development in southeast Orange County and the east coast campus of the La Jolla, Calif.-based institute.

The opening of the new research facility is projected to have a transformative effect on the region by fostering a medically-focused, knowledge-based economy. Burnham is a catalyst for the Medical City, which is becoming a hub for medical research that will advance scientific discoveries and lead to breakthrough therapies.

“We’ve established a foundation by bringing new expertise to the region and forging strong alliances that will enhance and accelerate scientific opportunities,” said Dr. John Reed, Burnham’s president and CEO. “Burnham’s collaborative approach has been very successful. We have generated research funding that has resulted in significant scientific discoveries. We’re transferring that model to the Lake Nona campus in Orlando, where scientists are conducting translational research in metabolic disorders, heart disease and cancer.”

In addition to Reed, dedication speakers included Florida Governor Charlie Crist; Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; Orange County Mayor Richard T. Crotty; Rasesh Thakkar, senior managing partner of the Tavistock Group; Malin Burnham, philanthropist and chairman of Burnham’s Board of Trustees; and Dr. Daniel Kelly, scientific director at Burnham Lake Nona.

Collaborating with clinical institutions is a key element of Burnham’s strategy to move discoveries from bench to bedside more quickly. Partnerships have already been formed with Florida Hospital, the Stedman Center at Duke University Medical Center; M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando; and the University of Central Florida. The day’s festivities also included a formal announcement confirming the University of Florida’s intention to build a research facility at Lake Nona.

“Our continued growth and new partnerships are creating opportunities to make key discoveries across disciplines,” said Dr. Daniel Kelly, scientific director and professor at Burnham Lake Nona. “Coupled with our sophisticated technology and drug discovery platforms, Burnham is poised for developing the innovative therapies of tomorrow.”

The state-of-the-art facility includes an ultra-high throughput screening center, one of only four NIH-funded comprehensive chemical screening centers in the country, complete with three robotic arms capable of conducting more than one million experiments per day. Sophisticated research platforms in genomics and metabolomics will enable scientists to define molecular and genetic “blueprints” of specific diseases. With advanced technologies, highly credentialed scientists and top-tier partnerships, Burnham is forming the foundation for a world-class discovery and translational research center.

Source: Burnham Institute for Medical Research