In the past four weeks, three centers focused on healthcare innovation have been established and plans to build another three centers have been announced.
Editor's note: The innovation center launches are listed in the order they were reported.
- University of California Irvine is working on a 200,000-square-foot medical innovation building that will contain teaching space and laboratories to advance research in the health sciences. In recognition of a $30 million gift from the Falling Leaves Foundation, the building will be named the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building.
- Washington, D.C.-based Children's National Hospital is building a research & innovation campus that is projected to add nearly 1,000 new jobs with a focus on research and science. The innovation hub will focus on finding new treatments for a range of children's health issues.
- Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson University launched the Jefferson Center for Connected Care. The center's mission is to minimize the digital divide that can exacerbate existing health inequities by focusing on research, innovation and education to overcome barriers to digital access.
- Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health is seeking $100 million in funding to build an innovation district that will surround its future medical school, Wake Forest School of Medicine. The medical school and innovation district are anticipated to create 11,500 jobs over the next 15 years, with most in scientific research and development, higher education, consulting, IT and warehousing.
- Amazon Web Services, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and other pharmacy and biotech leaders partnered to launch AION Labs, an innovative drug research project with a $9.9 million budget. The lab will be powered by AWS, and it will produce artificial intelligence and computational ventures to develop new pharmaceutical therapies. Rehovot, Israel, has been selected as its international headquarters.
- Two New Jersey hospitals — Hackensack Meridian and RWJ Barnabas — and two of the state's schools — Princeton University and Rutgers University — broke ground on a hub for research, innovation and medical education. The New Jersey Innovation and Technology Hub is in downtown New Brunswick, and its development costs total $665 million.
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Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina and Clemson (S.C.) University partnered to launch an artificial intelligence innovation hub. The hub will feature AI experts and an augmentation grant program to invest in interdisciplinary research. Its purpose is to develop and support AI tools that improve public health, assist clinicians and reduce costs while prioritizing diversity, ethics and inclusion.