University of California now has an innovative stem cell core facility

Kornberg Associates | Architects (www.kornberg.com) has converted part of an existing building (Keen Hall), including a previously unused covered open area, into an innovative stem cell core facility for the University of California, Riverside. Ken Kornberg, president and founder, made the announcement.

"A key project element was to ensure that although the facility was integrated into the campus security system, access control is independent from the rest of Keen Hall," said Kornberg Associates I Architects Principal Mike Mulvey, RIBA, who supervised the project and heads up San Diego operations for the firm. "A video monitoring system was included in the cell culture labs, support rooms and microscopy rooms for educational purposes. Portions of the adjacent 30-year-old building were brought up to current disabled access standards as part of the project."

The facility includes a cutting-edge Nikon BioStation, an automated microscopic cell culture observation device. Cameras in all working areas feed to an LCD screen in the lobby so that students and others can be shown stem cell activities without having to enter the 'clean area.'

Major project funding was provided by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM; www.cirm.ca.gov), established in 2005 following the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The statewide ballot measure provides $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions. CIRM makes grants and provides loans for stem cell research, research facilities and other research opportunities. CIRM inspected and approved the facility in August 2009.