Upstate Medical University Expansion - Syracuse, NY

SYRACUSE, N.Y.— State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, Ph.D., joined Upstate Medical University President David R. Smith, M.D., and Steven Goodman, Ph.D., vice president for research and dean of Upstate’s College of Graduate Studies, in a groundbreaking ceremony for a $72 million, 158,273 square foot expansion of the university’s Institute for Human Performance (IHP) April 15.

“The expansion of IHP is about more than just bricks and mortar; it’s about putting New Yorkers to work, investing in and raising up Syracuse and central New York, and forging new strategies and setting new boundaries in interdisciplinary research,” said Chancellor Zimpher.

Smith said: “This is an investment – a down payment – on the new economy of central New York. The expansion of IHP embodies SUNY Upstate Medical University’s mission of research and service, and it aligns both with New York’s need to push forward with a knowledge based economy and Chancellor Zimpher’s strategic plan, The Power of SUNY.”

In addition to Zimpher’s address and remarks by President Smith, the ceremony also included presentations by Upstate neuroscience researchers Jeremy Shefner, M.D., Ph.D., Francesca Pignoni, Ph.D., and Stephen Glatt, Ph.D., who discussed their investigations and the value of interdisciplinary research; -and a presentation by Goodman who discussed the IHP expansion and how it will showcase Upstate’s strength in interdisciplinary research.

The expansion of the IHP will allow the university to further its interdisciplinary and interdepartmental approach to the study of disorders of the nervous system and speed the pace of scientific discovery. It will also strengthen Upstate’s research enterprise, projected this year to total $42 million. The expanded facility is expected to open in the spring of 2013.