University of Alabama moves to expand Student Health Center
The Student Health Center expansion will provide a better patient flow and experience. (University of Alabama)
An expansion of the University of Alabama’s Student Health Center will increase clinical services provided to students and boost UA’s research capabilities.
Dr. Firat Soylu, associate professor of educational psychology and education neuroscience at the University of Alabama, uses scans of neural activity in children to test correlation between math and finger sense in a research project. A new MRI suite at the expanded Student Health Center will allow UA researchers to extensively explore the human body, with a special emphasis on the brain and neuroscience. (University of Alabama)
The two-story addition will allow student health services to expand clinical operations at the current location to better support the student population. The project includes new provider offices, exam rooms and other support functions.
UA’s student population has grown significantly since the construction of the Student Health Center in 2005. The expansion will better accommodate the needs of UA students and provide a better patient flow and experience.
The project also includes a new MRI suite that will allow UA researchers to extensively explore the human body, with a special emphasis on the brain and neuroscience. The suite will include the MRI room, shell space for a future MRI scanner and support areas.
Through a $1.7 million major research instrumentation grant from the National Science Foundation, UA will purchase a Siemens 3.0 Tesla Magnetom Prisma MRI scanner, MRI-compatible eye-tracker and participant response system for the study of brain systems supporting various aspects of human behavior and cognitive function.
“The University of Alabama is recognized as a top-tier research institution, and we have a growing concentration of neuroimaging and neuroscience researchers at UA,” said Dr. Russell J. Mumper, vice president for research and economic development. “An MRI scanner on campus is essential for the successful execution of several funded research projects and will allow faculty the capability to pursue future projects.”
The Student Health Center addition project foundation and site work package has begun and the main package will bid this summer with a projected completion of August 2022.
This story originally appeared on the University of Alabama website.
