The UAB campus is rapidly being reimagined through numerous new construction and building renovation projects. These include projects that directly support the goals of UAB’s Forging Ahead strategic plan and Research Strategic Initiative: Growth with Purpose, which set a goal of increasing research expenditures to $1 billion, from $774.5 million in fiscal year 2023. Several projects also advance the Heersink School of Medicine’s strategic goals across its mission pillars in clinical care, medical education, and biomedical research.
The 175,000-square-foot Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building and Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation Conference Center will bring together researchers, equipment, and staff for the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute, the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science, the Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, the Heersink Institute for Global Health, and the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, among others. It will accommodate an estimated 80 existing and new faculty and include space for computational research, research support, offices, administrative and scientific collaboration, and meeting spaces. The building is expected to increase UAB’s research capacity by 16 percent and help scientists generate millions in new grants.
The project is funded by philanthropic gifts from the Altec/Styslinger Foundation and Dr. Marnix and Mary Heersink as well as $50 million from the state of Alabama via the Public School and College Authority, and funds from the Heersink School of Medicine, Jefferson County, and the City of Birmingham. The building is expected to be ready for occupancy in spring 2025.
For the past several years, Volker Hall—the undergraduate medical education hub on the UAB campus—has undergone a remarkable transformation. Renovations have added new learning spaces, including the Heersink Active Learning Center, student study and relaxation areas, administrative offices, meeting areas, and technology upgrades.
In July 2024, construction kicked off on Volker Hall’s new, 3,800-square-foot atrium. Made possible by gifts from the Heersink Family Foundation as well as funding from the Heersink School of Medicine, the atrium will be a gathering place that includes student study areas, lounge space, and a coffee bar. Natural light will stream in through multi-story glass windows, and the space will include a plant wall and other greenery. Completion is scheduled for summer 2025.
The Science and Engineering Complex will be home to basic sciences programs in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, including the Departments of Biology and Physics and teaching labs for the Department of Chemistry. The $76 million, 138,842-square-foot facility will house classrooms, faculty and staff offices, and collaboration rooms designed to foster team-based learning and collaborative research. In July 2023, UAB broke ground on Gorrie Hall, which will be home to the School of Engineering. Construction is expected to be complete in the summer of 2025.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 28, 2024, for the new eight-story, $190 million Biomedical Research and Psychology Building. The 225,000-square-foot facility will house research-intensive faculty from the Heersink School of Medicine and the UAB College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychology, and includes wet and dry laboratories and research support spaces. Championed by retired United States Senator Richard Shelby, the building is supported by $152 million in federal funding as well as funds from the Heersink School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Sciences. Construction is expected to be complete
in spring 2027.
UAB hosted the ribbon-cutting for a new childcare facility on April 30, 2024. The new facility serves more than twice as many children—including 228 children and 46 infants—than the previous childcare facility accommodated. The Early Learning Center encompasses 18,500 square feet of space, including classroom and operational space, and a 9,700-square-foot exterior playground. The new center offers reduced tuition and discounted childcare to UAB faculty, staff, and students.