University of Montana School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences Sets Sights on Expansion

With space at a premium, The University of Montana School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences has received a $3 million federal grant to help fund an $11.5 million expansion project.

The National Institutes of Health has agreed to put up the $3 million challenge grant to help fund the expansion – as long as UM can raise the additional $8.5 million to complete the expansion of the Skaggs Building. The school is now actively pursuing other avenues of funding to complete the project.

Plans for the 42,000-square foot addition on the south end of the Skaggs Building include the construction of offices, conference rooms, an electronic-classroom/science-learning center complex, a tiered classroom and student support areas.

Dave Forbes, dean of the School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences, said the expansion is necessary to support the tremendous growth in research and academic studies at UM. During the past decade, UM has attracted world-class researchers and has projects under way on a wide variety of major modern-day medical problems.

“Clearly, our scientists are involved in studies that have tremendous implications for Montanans in particular and for the world,” Forbes said.

With more than 90 active research grants, the school ranks No.1 on the UM campus for bringing in external funding. Top areas of research in the school include environmental health issues, cardiovascular studies and neuroscience.

In addition to its own studies and cooperative ventures with other UM departments, the school collaborates with St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center, the International Heart Institute and the Montana Neuroscience Institute. The school also operates the interdisciplinary Environmental Health Sciences and Structural and Functional Neurosciences.

The scope of research studies prompted the school to add “biomedical” to the name of its Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. “This is much more reflective of the training program we offer students,” said Vernon Grund, chair of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. “We do very little classical pharmaceutical research such as drug delivery anymore.”

http://www.umt.edu/urelations/releases/2003/PharExpan03.htm