What: Wayne State University - Detroit's public, urban research university - is celebrating the opening of the Integrative Biosciences Center (IBio), a $93 million facility dedicated to studying and eliminating the many health disparities that plague Detroit's residents. Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson will be joined by state and local officials - including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan - to celebrate the facility's grand opening. Community leaders and public health advocates from throughout the city also will be in attendance, along with Henry Ford Health System's leadership team, whose organization will occupy a portion of the building's first floor.
The ceremony will include remarks from President Wilson, Mayor Duggan, State of Michigan Director of Urban and Metropolitan Initiatives Harvey Hollins III, and Henry Ford Health System's Chief Executive Officer John Popovich Jr., M.D. Speakers will be available for individual interviews immediately following the ceremony, which concludes at 11 a.m. IBio researchers working in the new facility will also be available for interviews.
To schedule an interview prior to the opening ceremony, contact Mike Brinich (mikebrinich@wayne.edu; 586-703-6966).
When: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14
Where: 6135 Woodward Avenue (the former site of the Dalgleish Cadillac dealership building)
More info: Situated in Midtown on a previously abandoned 2.7-acre city block, IBio spans from Cass to Woodward Avenue and features more than 200,000 square feet of lab and clinical space designed to foster a collaborative and flexible approach to research. It is the largest construction project in the history of the university.
Metabolic disorders including diabetes and obesity - which disproportionately affect certain segments of the population - are among the major urban health issues researchers will focus on at IBio. Hypertension - the leading cause of heart disease, America's leading cause of death - affects African Americans at an alarmingly higher rate than other groups. Cardiovascular disease, specifically heart disease prevention, is another area of disparity that IBio research teams will focus on.
Parking: Parking is available in WSU parking lot 11 on the corner of Cass and York.