Life Sciences Technology Building

The $140 million Life Sciences Technology Building is critical to Cornell University’s goal of becoming a predominant force in life sciences research and education. It is a centerpiece of the New Life Sciences Initiative, the university’s $600 million investment in cross-disciplinary life sciences research and its largest investment ever in science.

The new Life Sciences Technology Building will bring together scientists from across the university and provide cutting-edge laboratories and teaching space to support research collaborations among faculty and students in the biological, physical, engineering, computational, and social sciences, among many other disciplines. The scientific discoveries that occur at the interface of these disciplines and take place in this state-of-the-art facility can lead to medical breakthroughs and other innovations that will dramatically improve quality of life for people around the world. Programs and research in the building will also support and advance genomics, digital technology, and sustainability.

The Life Sciences Technology Building will be home to the Cornell Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology (CICMB) and the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), a university-wide unit that bridges biology, medicine, and engineering. Both will drive interdisciplinary life sciences research that can lead to major breakthroughs in medical care and treatment, opening up new opportunities for increased collaboration between the Ithaca and Weill Cornell Medical College campuses. The CICMB and the BME department can draw new world-class faculty to Cornell and help the university become a global leader in molecular and cell biology and biomedical engineering, fields that are critical to the future of human health. Other scientific areas housed in the building include:

Computational Biology. Faculty in this department apply expertise in the mathematical sciences to biology, including statistics, probability, biomathematics, and computing. The use of mathematical and statistical methods in the biological sciences is central to interdisciplinary life sciences research.

Biophysics. An emerging interdisciplinary field, biophysics applies the principles and techniques of physics and chemistry to biological systems to understand fundamental life processes. Applications include the development of promising new methods for creating novel drugs and treating disease.