UPMC-Managed Research Center in Sicily Begins to Take Shape
By: Francesca Valagussa
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, global supply chain snarls and soaring inflation, a UPMC-managed biomedical research center in Sicily is taking shape and promises to soon become a striking new home for more than 600 researchers and staff.
Aerial view of the construction site in Carini, Italy
The Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center, or BRBC, as this new facility is called, is rising from the ground in Carini, only a few miles from the Palermo airport. Construction is overseen by the Ri.MED Foundation, a partnership formed in 2006 by UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh, the Italian and Sicilian governments, and the Italian National Research Council. The goal is to create a hub where cutting-edge biomedical and biotechnology research is rapidly translated into innovative clinical practices and products.
To be completed in the next two years, the government-funded BRBC is expected to become a reference point for researchers from around the world and to play a leading role within the scientific and medical communities.
Framed by the Monti di Carini mountains and facing the Mediterranean Sea, the 164,632-square-meter site of the BRBC will not only house state-of-the-art lab space, but also a 200-seat auditorium, a guesthouse and office space.
A planned UPMC-managed ISMETT hospital will be built on a site next door, creating a unique hub of research and care that will improve the lives of patients while creating new jobs for hundreds of skilled workers.
