Work begins on new home for biochemistry

When Jerry Hazelbauer became the chair of the MU biochemistry department six years ago, he made a habit of asking faculty members one question: “What would you change?”

They wanted all the biochemistry offices in one building instead of scattered over campus. They wanted a central area where they could chat with colleagues. They wanted even more interaction with related fields.

“But that would never happen,” Hazelbauer said, remembering his colleagues’ words.

Those changes are happening. Hazelbauer was one of four people Wednesday morning to break ground on a $10 million state-of-the-art laboratory addition to Schweitzer Hall that will include an elevated walkway to Schlundt Annex. The construction will unite biochemical research in the areas of medicine, agriculture and physical sciences in one location next to MU’s chemistry and physics buildings.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jerry Hazelbauer quite so happy,” said Bill Crist, dean of the School of Medicine.

In about a year, the plan has gone from conception to groundbreaking, Hazelbauer said. The whole project, which is being funded by the university, should be completed by October 2007.

The addition will provide new space for several MU researchers, including some research on cancer, kidney and bone disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

The building will also house a $2.3 million 800 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer capable of analyzing molecules in even more detail than with the department’s current spectrometer. There are only a handful of these instruments in the country, and this will be the first in Missouri.

The spectrometer will help researchers understand how atoms are arranged by creating a contour map that represents the arrangement of atoms in the material being looked at, said Steven VanDoren, an associate professor of biochemistry who will be using the instrument for research on cancer and other inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease and arthritis. The maps, he said, look like a profile view of the Rocky Mountains.

“These maps represent not only where the atoms live, so to speak, but what atoms are close to each other,” VanDoren said. “We can use that to study where the protein interacts with its partners.”

Hazelbauer said since its creation more than 30 years ago, the biochemistry department has been faced with the problem of being part of two schools: the School of Medicine and College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Being able to draw from both disciplines has many advantages, Hazelbauer said, but one big drawback has been the physical separation of its researchers.

The three-story, 22,000-square-foot addition should go a long way towards solving that problem, Hazelbauer said.