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Cincinnati Children’s to build research pavilion in Avondale

Site to be new home for Vaccine Research Center as well as Biobank and freezer archive

Monday, July 24, 2023

Cincinnati Children’s will build a research pavilion in Avondale that will serve as the new home of the Gamble Vaccine Research Center, the Discover Together Biobank and a freezer archive used for long-term cold storage of research samples.

The new Winslow Research Pavilion will add to laboratory space now available to investigators at Cincinnati Children’s, which is one of the largest pediatric research organizations in the world, said Tina Cheng, MD, who is director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, chair of the Department of Pediatrics, and chief medical officer of the health system.

“The Winslow Research Pavilion will enhance our efforts to connect scientists and clinicians, which enables faster translation of discoveries from the lab to directly impacting patients,” Cheng said. “This emphasis on research is one reason Cincinnati Children’s is recognized as one of the most innovative organizations in America.”

The building will be located at 2850 Winslow Ave., near the Interstate 71 interchange with Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The Winslow Research Pavilion will encompass nearly 45,000 square feet and house about 70 current employees – including physicians, research investigators, research nurses, coordinators, data managers, laboratory scientists and investigational pharmacists.

The Gamble Vaccine Research Center will occupy the top two levels of the new three-story building. Outpatient studies and offices will be on Level 2, and 16 beds for adult overnight studies will be on Level 3.

The Gamble Center currently conducts outpatient studies at the Schubert Research Clinic on the first floor of the Clinical Sciences Pavilion (Location T) at the Burnet Campus, and overnight vaccine studies involving adults are conducted in the Academy Building on Reading Road. Over 2,900 volunteers are enrolled in active studies. The Gamble Center has helped lead the way in the evaluation of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines, and 14 of the 29 trials now underway at the center are related to that research.

“Infectious diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide, including among children and adults,” said Robert Frenck, MD, director of Vaccine Research Center. “As evidenced by the nationally recognized work of Cincinnati Children’s during the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines are powerful tools to combat infectious diseases. The state-of-the art Winslow Research Pavilion will allow us to significantly improve our ability to evaluate future vaccines – and thereby provide additional life-saving measures to the world.”

The Discover Together Biobank, which occupies space at both the Cincinnati Children’s Burnet Campus and the University of Cincinnati’s Reading Campus, will have sample processing/distribution labs and offices on Level 1 of the Winslow Research Pavilion. The Biobank will share the floor with what will be the first centralized location at Cincinnati Children’s for a freezer archive.

The Biobank facilitates the acquisition, processing, storage, and distribution of biospecimens for research studies. Cincinnati Children’s researchers work with the biospecimens to seek treatments or cures for diseases.

“The Winslow Research Pavilion will enable Discover Together Biobank to expand our biobanking resources and our support of the Cincinnati Children’s research community,” said Mike Pauciulo, director of the Biobank. “Unifying operations into a single, large, state-of-the-art biobanking facility will allow greater efficiencies in operations and higher biospecimen throughput to fuel research discovery and ultimately improve patient outcomes. This project represents Cincinnati Children’s commitment to being a leader in pediatric biobanking.”

Cincinnati Children’s purchased the Winslow Avenue property more than 20 years ago. An existing structure will be vacated and demolished to make room for the research pavilion. The Therapeutic Interagency Program, which provides day treatment for preschoolers and is the only occupant of the site, will move into renovated space at 2800 Winslow Ave. in September.

Construction of the Winslow Research Pavilion will begin in early 2024, pending approvals for design, zoning, and permits. Cincinnati Children’s hopes to occupy the building by mid- to late 2025.

Initial investment in the Winslow Research Pavilion by Cincinnati Children’s is expected to be $42 million, which includes design, construction and equipment.

Messer Construction will be the design builder overseeing the project. The design team is led by BHDP Architects and includes Heapy Engineering, Kleingers, and Schaefer.