MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has announced plans to build a $412 million advanced research center.
The project unveiled Monday is a key part of a $1 billion capital expansion at the Tennessee hospital known for treating childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
St. Jude officials said the center will cultivate transformative research and will attract scientists and clinicians to the Memphis hospital.
Groundbreaking is set for this spring, and the center is expected to open in 2021.
St. Jude officials say the center's labs and spaces will be designed in a way to allow researchers to collaborate openly and across departments. The center will stream natural light through open atriums and courtyards.
The center will include labs focusing on such pursuits as immunology, neurobiology, cell and molecular biology, gene editing, genomics, immunotherapy and RNA biology.