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The systemwide initiative will benefit Missourians through advances in medical science discoveries, treatments and economic growth

COLUMBIA, Mo. – ���ϱ��� leaders and state and national officials broke ground Friday on the NextGen Precision Health Institute at the University of Missouri-Columbia, a central facility supporting a systemwide precision health initiative. The event also served as an official launch for the NextGen Precision Health Initiative, which harnesses and supports the research activities of the system’s four universities and health system.

The initiative is expected to accelerate medical breakthroughs for patients in Missouri and beyond, increase collaboration among UM scientists and industry partners, attract research funding, generate jobs, and train a new generation of health care scientists and practitioners who will help Missouri address the health care needs of the future.

“Today is an exciting day not only for the ���ϱ��� and our four universities, but also for the state of Missouri as a whole,” President Mun Choi said. “The NextGen Precision Health Initiative will help us translate fundamental research from laboratories to effective treatments and devices, which will benefit all Missourians as well as the rest of the world. As the boldest and most innovative investment in our history, this initiative and facility will stand as enduring symbols of our commitment to the state of Missouri and will advance medical science and our highly skilled workforce for generations to come.”

The approximately 265,000-square-foot, five-story precision health facility will provide space for more than 60 principal investigators, about half of whom will be newly recruited in areas such as engineering, medicine, veterinary medicine, animal sciences, and arts and science. It will be located on the MU campus near University Hospital at the northwest corner of Hospital Drive and Virginia Avenue.

University administrators, students, faculty and staff as well as dignitaries such as U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt and Missouri Sen. Caleb Rowden attended the groundbreaking.

“Precision medicine has the potential to completely transform health care delivery in this country. The NextGen Precision Health Initiative will accelerate progress toward new medical breakthroughs at this pivotal time in the medical research space,” Blunt said. “One of my top priorities in Congress has been establishing a pattern of sustained, increased federal investment in medical research. I’m proud to see Missouri become home to this brand new facility where students will have the opportunity to work alongside experts and researchers developing new treatments for the most costly and deadly diseases.”

The event also featured MU Chancellor Alexander N. Cartwright, University of Missouri-Kansas City Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal, Missouri University of Science and Technology Interim Chancellor Christopher G. Maples and University of Missouri-St. Louis Chancellor Thomas F. George.

“Missouri’s flagship university — home to the nation’s most powerful university research reactor and 13 schools and colleges across the arts, sciences and humanities — is excited and poised to bring our comprehensive breadth of expertise across disciplines to this innovative research facility,” Cartwright said. “Cross-discipline research space of this magnitude is rare and will help us tackle grand challenges like treatments for cancer and heart disease. This important work will undoubtedly attract federal and industry funding, and bolster MU’s role among America’s leading research institutions while contributing to the economic development of our region and state.”

The initiative will involve every UM university and be especially impactful for students, who can learn side-by-side with leading researchers.

“The University of Missouri-Kansas City will harness its deep strengths in data science and bioinformatics to collaborate with the NextGen Precision Health Initiative,” Agrawal said. “The outcomes research UMKC is leading is transforming lives, and transformation through research is exactly what this initiative plans to d