SLU Research Building Named in Honor of Nobel Laureate Following $30 Million Gift
Final Steel Beam Will Be Secured in Place
at Ceremony Today
ST. LOUIS - Throughout five decades as a professor at Saint Louis University
School of Medicine, Edward A. Doisy, Ph.D., was renowned worldwide for his pioneering
work in the field of biochemistry, including winning the 1943 Nobel Prize for
discovering the chemical nature of vitamin K.
To honor his lifetime of work, Saint Louis University's new biomedical research
building, a $67 million tower in the heart of Midtown St. Louis and a key part
of the continuing rebirth of the city's Midtown corridor, will be named in Dr.
Doisy's honor.
"Nothing would have made Ed happier," said Margaret M. Doisy, widow
of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist. "I hope the memory of Ed will be
a source of inspiration for men and women to pursue scientific knowledge for
many years into the future at Saint Louis University School of Medicine."
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Edward A. Doisy, Ph.D. |
Saint Louis University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., will announce the
naming of the Edward A. Doisy Research Center to faculty, staff
and students at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon during a special topping out ceremony
at which the final 519-pound steel beam will be lifted in place on the western
side of the building. The University also will announce that the Doisy family
has committed a total of $30 million for construction of this state-of-the-art
biomedical research facility.
To commemorate this construction milestone, the 27-foot-long steel beam has
been on display for the past week in the Caroline Mall at Saint Louis University
Medical Center, where members of the SLU community have been able to sign and
inscribe messages on it.
Biondi said Dr. Doisy mentored generations at Saint Louis University School
of Medicine and that naming the building for him is the perfect way to remember
his "scientific accomplishments and philanthropy that have inspired students
at Saint Louis University over a period of decades."
"Edward A. Doisy inspired greatness in his lifetime, and he will continue
to inspire greatness in our faculty and students in the decades ahead,"
Biondi said. "Time and again through the years, Dr. Doisy's support of
Saint Louis University has led to the development of innovative programs and
improved facilities to educate students studying medicine, science and all the
health professions. In addition, countless patients have benefited from our
medical and scientific research, made possible by Dr. Doisy's generosity. He
has enriched and touched the lives of many."
Biondi said the new Edward A. Doisy Research Center will make it possible for
SLU scientists to further research discoveries in five key areas: cancer, liver
disease, heart/lung disease, aging and brain disease, and vaccine development
for a variety of infectious diseases.
Thomas W. Keefe, J.D., vice president for development and university relations,
said Saint Louis University is announcing this afternoon a total of $60.5 million
in philanthropic support to date for the biomedical research center.
In addition to this $30 million gift, Keefe also announced several major gifts
to support both the research building and research at Saint Louis University
School of Medicine:
- $2 million to establish the James B. and Joan C. Peter Endowed
Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. James B. Peter, M.D., graduated
from the SLU School of Medicine in 1958 and has had a varied and distinguished
career in academic medicine and in business. He is founder and former chief
executive officer of Specialty Laboratories, a leading hospital-focused clinical
reference laboratory. Dr. Peter and his wife, Joan, have been generous supporters
of the research and education at Saint Louis University for many years. The
Peters are residents of Santa Monica, Calif.
- $2 million to establish the Badeeh A. and Catherine V. Bander
Endowed Chair in Nephrology. Steven J. Bander, M.D., is a 1975 graduate
of the Saint Louis University College of Arts and Sciences with a degree in
biology, and he and his wife, Patricia A. Bander, are supporting this endowed chair in honor of his parents.
He is an adjunct faculty member in nephrology at Saint Louis University School
of Medicine and a resident of
Des Peres in west St. Louis County. Dr. Bander is a generous supporter of
Saint Louis University who envisions a growing national and international
reputation for the school in the years ahead.
- $1.5 million in a challenge grant from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee
Foundation to support construction of the Doisy Research Center. This
foundation is a non-profit corporation in Delaware that was formed in 1948
by John E. Mabee and his wife, Lottie E. Mabee, to aid Christian religious
organizations, charitable organizations, institutions of higher learning and
hospitals.
"It is touching to know that Saint Louis University had such an impact
on these two alumni, Dr. James Peter and Dr. Steven Bander, that they are giving
back in this extraordinary way," Keefe said. "The creation of these
two new endowed chairs will help us attract and retain world-class scientists
in the fields of biochemistry and nephrology, and we are grateful to the Peter
and Bander families for their tremendous generosity."
Keefe praised the Mabee Foundation not only for its gift but also for "making
a profound difference in our world for more than half a century."
Keefe said additional details about the new endowed chairs - including the
renowned scholars who will hold these chairs - will be released at a later date.
Joseph Weixlmann, Ph.D., provost of Saint Louis University, said the Doisy
Research Center will form the eastern anchor of CORTEX, a public-private economic
development initiative promoting the development of a nationally recognized
life sciences industry in St. Louis in the corridor between Saint Louis University
and Washington University. CORTEX stands for the Center of Research Technology
and Entrepreneurial Exchange.
The new Doisy Research Center will consist of a 10-story tower at the north
end with the two lowest floors extending toward the south and connecting in
a covered walkway to Saint Louis University School of Medicine, where additional
research facilities and training space are located. Construction began in the
summer of 2005, and the building is expected to open in the fall of 2007. The
$67 million Doisy Research Building is part of an $80.5 million project that
also includes renovation of existing laboratory space.
Clayco is the general contractor for 206,000-square-foot structure, which was
designed by architects at Cannon Design.
The new building is not the only campus entity named in honor of a member or
members of the Doisy family. The Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology (so named in 1955) was founded in 1923 by Doisy. Doisy
Hall is part of a complex of buildings that comprise the School of Medicine.
In 2004, the University renamed its School of Allied Health Professions and
School of Nursing as the Edward and Margaret Doisy College of Health Sciences.
And in the department of biochemistry, William Sly, M.D., is the Alice A. Doisy
Professor and Chairman of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
For more information about the Edward A. Doisy Research Center, visit researchbuilding.slu.edu
on the World Wide Web.
Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction
of awarding the first M.D. west of the Mississippi River. Saint Louis University
School of Medicine is a pioneer in geriatric medicine, organ transplantation,
chronic disease prevention, cardiovascular disease, neurosciences and vaccine
research, among others. The School of Medicine trains physicians and biomedical
scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health services on a local,
national and international level.
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(Editor's note: To interview Thomas Keefe about this announcement, please
call Joe Muehlenkamp at 314-977-8015)
