Almost a year after Sanford-Burnham dedicated its own research facility in Lake Nona’s Medical City, we helped celebrate the groundbreaking of the University of Florida Academic and Research Center at Lake Nona.Dr. John Reed, Sanford-Burnham CEO, spoke on behalf of all Medical City partners, to welcome the University to the burgeoning life science cluster, which now includes the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and the Burnett School of Biomedical Science, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando, Nemours Children’s Hospital and the Orlando VA Medical Center.

“When Sanford-Burnham first began discussions about building an east coast research facility in Florida, we were excited by the vision for an innovative life sciences cluster that would harness the power of collaborative research. We were especially intrigued by the opportunity to work closely with University of Florida, recognizing the great research powerhouse that they represent,” said Dr. Reed.

Dr. Bernard Machen, president of UF, recognized the shared areas of interest in biomedical research that will create rich opportunities for collaboration in cardiovascular diseases, cancer and neurologic disorders and translational research related to drug discovery and development.

The University of Florida’s plans for the academic and research center will also complement Sanford-Burnham’s focus in Orlando. Their College of Pharmacy and programs related to drug discovery and development are a logical extension of Sanford-Burnham’s work in early drug discovery through the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics.