Date: January 31, 2013 By:
This week the Ragon Institute has completed its move to 400 Technology Square, Cambridge.
This new building space increases Ragon lab and office space significantly, providing a critical step forward in the research and recruitment capabilities of the Institute. Researchers, staff and collaborators will be housed in three and a half floors of office, open lab, and tissue culture space connected by an open stairway.
New to the Institute is a Biosafety Level 3 (BL3) lab, which will provide scientists in the community access to a dedicated 12-color high-speed cell sorter and microscopy. BL3 labs provide a higher level of security and are characterized by a filtered air system, enabling Ragon researchers to study TB in conjunction with HIV for the first time.
Other lab space includes cell-culture, cell-sorting and a vivarium.
The larger imaging space will allow Ragon to expand as new imaging technologies are developed. Likewise, the larger flow cytometry lab centralizes all the equipment, making it more accessible to Ragon researchers and collaborators.
Another updated feature of the new Ragon space is a private, dedicated phlebotomy room which will allow the Clinical Research Group to interview research participants and obtain consent. Obtaining samples on-site will eliminate the need for transit between various clinical sites and the lab and researchers will be able to set up experiments directly after acquisition of samples.
Finally the space includes a 160-seat auditorium with audio-visual and conferencing capabilities, providing the Institute with the ability for the first time to host symposiums, as well as local, national and international meetings.
The Ragon Institute looks forward to becoming part of the “densest square mile of innovation on the planet.”
Read more about the facilities in Newsletter, Vol 9.
