Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building will be used to train needed workers and enhance the state’s biotech industry
UT Southwestern Medical Center and The University of Texas at Dallas jointly celebrated the opening of the Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building, designed to accelerate training and foster medical innovations to improve patient care.
The $120 million, five-story, 150,000-square-foot building, located on the UT Southwestern campus, was made possible by a transformative gift from Texas Instruments (TI) and support from other donors, as well as investment from the Permanent University Fund of The University of Texas System. The facility supports the work of dozens of faculty from both institutions and their teams with wet and dry laboratory space, areas designated to promote multidisciplinary interactions, and a Biodesign Center featuring a large assembly/design studio, a metal fabrication shop, and rooms for 3D printing. A dedication ceremony was held in October 2023.
“The new Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building will advance the UT System, the Metroplex, and Texas as a hub for biomedical innovation, supporting the integration of world-class engineering and health sciences to advance collaboration among physicians, engineers, students, and researchers to improve health care for Texas and beyond,” said James B. Milliken, Chancellor of The University of Texas System.
“As the momentum of biomedical innovation has continued to accelerate across Texas and especially the Dallas-Fort Worth region, the need for facilities that can foster underlying research to produce solutions for unmet medical needs and train the next generation of innovators is critical,” said Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., President of UT Southwestern. “Thanks to support from Texas Instruments, the Eugene McDermott Foundation, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, and other generous donors, this new facility will cultivate a distinctive educational environment to advance transformational bioengineering that will improve patient care, facilitate advances in related fields such as artificial intelligence, molecular imaging, robotics, and genetic engineering, and further solidify North Texas as a hub for biomedical innovation.”
Texas is among the top five states with the highest level of bioengineers and biomedical engineers. Employment of those positions nationally is projected to grow by 7% between 2023 and 2033, which is faster than the average for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 1,400 openings for bioengineers and biomedical engineers are projected each year, on average, over that 10-year period, with the median annual wage at $100,730 in 2023.
“Biomedical engineering and science are major drivers of UT Dallas’ rapidly growing research portfolio,” said UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson, Ph.D. “The already robust partnership between UT Dallas and UT Southwestern will take another huge step forward upon the launch of our shared facilities. This partnership will also provide students and faculty with more opportunities to create transformative technologies that will improve lives. We are grateful for the visionary support of Texas Instruments in this endeavor.”
“We are proud to serve as a catalyst for the environment being dedicated today, where scientists, engineers, and other innovators can find fresh solutions that will lead to new therapies, new drugs, and new devices to help patients,” said Haviv Ilan, President and Chief Executive Officer of TI. “I’m personally inspired by what a shared vision has led to – a center for life-improving innovations we can only begin to imagine.”
The new facility builds upon the decades-long partnership between UTSW and UT Dallas, which established the state’s first biomedical engineering Ph.D. program in 1974. Today, both UT Dallas and UTSW offer a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering through the UT Dallas Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. UT Southwestern also offers an M.D./Ph.D. in medicine and biomedical engineering through the UTSW Medical School and Graduate School.
Recently, Pegasus Park, a neighboring Dallas development targeting biomedical innovation and entrepreneurs, was selected as home to the federal government’s Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Customer Experience Hub, which will focus on developing accessible health solutions with the potential to be readily adopted. The project is considered a significant boost to the growing biotech and life sciences industries.