University of Vermont - Vermont State Health Laboratories

After more than a decade of discussion and planning, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in April 2013 for a new Vermont State Health Laboratory co-located with the University of Vermont Colchester Research Facility. Expected to be completed in fall 2014, the 47,844-square-foot building will be physically connected to the Colchester Research Facility.

Vermont Commissioner of Health Harry Chen, M.D., and UVM President Tom Sullivan were aligned in the vision to create a state scientific campus in Colchester, recognizing the benefits of partnering on specialized medical research, the potential for increasing research funding and enhanced recruitment, and cost economies resulting from sharing facilities.

The new building was designed collaboratively by the health department and UVM to facilitate collaboration between University researchers and public health scientists and maximize the advantages of having the two buildings in close proximity. A number of UVM scientists in biochemistry, medicine, pathology, and pediatrics are conducting work in the basic sciences and population science in laboratories in Colchester. Sharing specialized space with health department scientists increases opportunities for cooperative projects that bridge the distance from the research bench to the community to health policy.