Reimagined Penn Medicine facility set to usher in a bold new era of Immune Health discovery
3600 Civic Center Boulevard will bring together key researchers and technologies in Immune Health, the Colton Center for Autoimmunity, and infectious diseases to drive breakthrough science.
2 min. read
Autoimmune diseases—in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells—are a leading cause of death and disability, with annual health care costs exceeding $100 billion. On Sept. 4, Penn Medicine celebrated the opening for the epicenter for pioneering research aimed at “breaking the immunological code” of these diseases and bringing them to heel. Leaders and faculty from the University of Pennsylvania officially marked the new era by cutting the ceremonial ribbon in the reimagined space at 3600 Civic Center Boulevard.
(From left) Kevin B. Mahoney, chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System; Penn President J. Larry Jameson; Jonathan A. Epstein, dean of the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM); and E. Michael Ostap, senior vice dean and chief scientific officer at PSOM, at the ribbon cutting at 3600 Civic Center Boulevard.
An eight-story “overbuild” atop the original building (completed in 2019) will co-locate researchers in Immune Health, the Colton Center for Autoimmunity, vaccinology, virology and viral immunity, fundamental immunology, and other related areas to stimulate collaboration. The completed building will also house offices for faculty working in biostatistics, epidemiology, and informatics; medical ethics and health policy; general internal medicine; emergency medicine; palliative care; and health care innovation.
“Today represents a commitment to bold, innovative experimentation that will lead us to a new generation of treatments and cures, as well as a commitment to the people who will drive that work,” said Jonathan A. Epstein, dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
The construction consists of a 217,000-square-foot wet lab, office, and research facility, built on top of an active 250,000 square-foot office tower where the first seven floors have been newly refurbished. The new floors house teams from the Colton Center for Autoimmunity at Penn, a global hub for autoimmunity research and the leader of the Colton Consortium for Autoimmunity, and the High-Throughput Institute for Discovery, a specialized lab enabling testing on patient samples to help make diagnoses and guide treatments.
“While we can't predict exactly what tomorrow will hold, our track record shows we have the creativity and courage to meet it head-on. The idea of building for a future we can’t fully see—a kind of faith in possibility—is a hallmark of Penn Medicine,” said University of Pennsylvania Health System CEO Kevin B. Mahoney. “This space embodies that adaptability and, through its connection to our research ecosystem, is designed to be a place where the next breakthroughs will be imagined and achieved.”
A $50 million gift from philanthropists Stewart and Judy Colton, made in 2022 to accelerate the existing Colton Center for Autoimmunity and matched by Penn, has been integral to the construction of the new Colton Center space.
Griffin Pitt, right, works with two other student researchers to test the conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and temperature of water below a sand dam in Kenya.
Griffin Pitt’s upbringing made her passionate about water access and pollution, and Penn has given her the opportunity to explore these issues back home in North Carolina and abroad.
Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars
Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for Moon and Mars exploration.
From framework to actions: Provost John L. Jackson Jr. talks Penn Forward
In a Q&A, Provost John L. Jackson Jr. explains the relationship between the strategic framework In Principle and Practice and Penn Forward—a new University-wide process and action plan that will advance Penn forward for the next decade and beyond.
