With a grant of more than $35 million from the National Institutes of Health, the $40 million, 200,000 square foot Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center will be built along Third Avenue across from the Science Building, bringing together faculty, staff and students from both the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and the College of Science.

The first floor contains two high-tech, multimedia auditoriums, teaching labs for classes, lecture rooms, animals quarters, imaging facilities with different types of microscopes and lecture rooms.

Space on the second floor will be for research for College of Science students. Labs will be built for biotechnology research and teaching. Student study spaces of about 700 square feet will also be built to expand an area of space that the existing Science Building lacks, according to College of Science Dean, Dr. Joseph Bragin. Seminar rooms for small group meetings and faculty and student offices will also be on the second floor.

The third and fourth floors have similar layouts and will be used mostly by students and faculty of the School of Medicine. Facilities on these two floors include cancer research facilities, rooms for equipment and offices for graduate students and faculty.