UNMC celebrates new home for pharmacy education, research

The University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha celebrated the grand opening of the Center for Drug Discovery and Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education on Aug. 23, 2016.

The new $35 million home for UNMC’s College of Pharmacy boasts state-of-the-art laboratories and education space equipped with next-generation technology and simulation and experiential-learning tools designed to help prepare future pharmacists for expanded roles in a changing health care landscape.

The facility was completely funded with private contributions. Principal benefactors include Ruth and Bill Scott of Omaha, Dianne and Allan Lozier of Omaha, and Joseph D. and Millie E. Williams of Morristown, New Jersey.

“This building opens in the 101st year of the College of Pharmacy,” said College of Pharmacy Dean Courtney Fletcher. “And over those 101 years we’ve been a leader in pharmacy education and pharmacy research. What this building does is really advance our mission to do that.”

The 85,000-square-foot facility is made up of three floors, each a football field long.

The top floor, the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery, will be especially focused on drug discovery and drug delivery in the fight against infectious diseases, and will have laboratories specifically designed to aid researchers in:

Medicinal chemistry and the design and synthesis of new compounds;
Drug delivery, particularly with nanotechnology;
Clinical and translational research.

“Within this new building, we now have the facilities, the infrastructure, and the talent to in some ways function like a small pharmaceutical company,” Fletcher said.

“Our hope is that the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery will soon emerge as a globally-recognized brand,” said Ram Mahato, UNMC chair of pharmaceutical sciences.

On floors 1 and 2, the Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education, students can take part in active learning, with auditoriums and classrooms equipped with advanced technology, or quiet study.

The first floor features tools for hands-on, experiential learning, including:

Simulation suites;
Compounding lab;
Gowning and aseptic lab;
Model pharmacy.

The former College of Pharmacy building, now the Joseph D. and Millie E. Williams Science Hall, will continue to serve as home to several College of Pharmacy researchers and their labs. College of Pharmacy scientists also have research labs located throughout UNMC’s Omaha campus, including in the Durham Research Center towers.

Learn more about the new pharmacy facility and its benefactors.  http://www.unmc.edu/publicrelations/media/press-kits/pharmacy.html