MREB opens, second facility on Bryan Campus

The Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) hosted an open house July 19 for the new Medical Research and Education Building, the second building on its Bryan campus.

The four-story, 131,000-square-foot facility is home to the TAMHSC-College of Medicine departments of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics and Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis. It features seminar rooms, a scientific display area, laboratories, support spaces and departmental offices.

The afternoon open house enabled invited guests to tour the new facilities, meet scientists and learn about departmental research initiatives. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Susan Combs welcomed attendees and highlighted the economic impact of the campus on Bryan-College Station – an expected $1.2 billion in 2015.

Other event attendees included Richard A. Box, D.D.S., chairman of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents; Nancy W. Dickey, M.D., president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center and vice chancellor for health affairs for the A&M System; David S. Carlson, Ph.D., vice president for research and dean of the School of Graduate Studies; T. Samuel Shomaker, M.D., J.D., The Jean and Thomas McMullin Dean of Medicine and vice president for clinical affairs; William H. Griffith, Ph.D., neuroscience and experimental therapeutics professor and department chair; and James E. Samuel, Ph.D., microbial and molecular pathogenesis professor and interim department chair.

The neurosciences group embraces a number of diverse interests in the central and peripheral nervous systems, including gene expression, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuroendocrinology and signal transduction. Research in microbial and molecular pathogenesis focuses on the interplay between pathogens and hosts, with an emphasis on the infectious agents themselves (viruses, bacteria and parasites).