UNM's MIND Imaging Center is a lone entity in Domenici Hall - by December, others will join it to create one of the top research centers in the country.
The expansion of Domenici Hall will bring three related programs, the imaging center, the UNM Brain Center and the MIND Institute, together for the research and treatment of mental illness.
The institute is part of a national organization with partner sites across the country. Researchers at the UNM site lead the direction of the research. The imaging center is the research component at the UNM site.
Construction is expected to add 30,000 square feet to the existing 10,000-square-foot building by late December. An additional 10,000-square-foot building will house the brain center. According to the University's Web site, improvements will include additional parking, security lighting, landscaping and fencing that will separate the center from the golf course.
The institute will fund the expansion of the building, with a grant paying for the brain center addition.
Kathy Burrows, executive director of the institute, said combining the entities is convenient because of the interrelated research they are conducting.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
When finished, the project will provide New Mexicans with the latest treatment options and the ability to train future researchers and health care professionals, according to the Web site.
Although the programs focus on research, there will be clinics in the building concentrating on the treatment of epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, Burrows said.
"The point is to get this collaborative effort," she said. "Having the building the way it is, it will be one of the top neuroimaging institutes in the country."
After construction is finished, the existing portion of the building will be remodeled. The imaging center will take up the bulk of the space, while the main office of the institute will remain at 801 University Blvd.
Parking is still available for patients in the front of Domenici Hall, and the building will have two separate entrances, one for patients and one for researchers.
Janeth Mattox, operations manager at the imaging center, said arrangements are being made, and there will be some shifting around for patients.
"The idea is we will be able to accommodate our clinic and patient studies throughout construction," she said.
Burrows said the collaboration is a very exciting thing because of the science involved.
"It is an amazing facility that should excite people," she said.
Not only does it have some of the top researchers in the country, Burrows said, it will also be a great service to the people of New Mexico.
"You can get something here you can't get anywhere else," she said.
