Lawrence Tech scores $1.3M to upgrade life sciences labs

Research at Lawrence Technological University got a shot in the arm Tuesday when the university received a $1.3 million federal grant to upgrade its life sciences laboratories.”We’re probably the best kept secret in the Metro Detroit area,” says Hsiano-Ping Moore, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Lawrence Tech. She adds that “We feel we’re so small we can be very strong because we work so closely together.”Lawrence Tech really began pushing its research capabilities in life sciences about five years ago. Today professors and undergraduates work side by side on projects ranging from molecular biology to biomedical engineering. These activities are currently taking place in a 40-year-old building that the funds from the National Science Foundation (thanks, federal stimulus cash) will upgrade Lawrence Tech’s Life Sciences Research Facility. That means a new molecular and cell biology research lab, a chemistry lab, an instrumentation room, and a test prep area. “The aging infrastructure is really impeding the progress of emerging sectors like ours,” Moore says.Work on the project is expected to start in January and finish by the 2011 fall semester. Source: Hsiano-Ping Moore, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Lawrence Technological UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke