UI Hygienic Lab public tours May 5

CORALVILLE -- The new $38 million University Hygienic Laboratory is perhaps the best example of before and after state Regent Ruth Harkin has ever seen.

Touring the new high-tech, secure hygienic lab Wednesday in Coralville with other members of the state Board of Regents, Harkin said it's a world away from the old lab, a retrofitted 1917 tuberculosis sanitarium.

"This is the best vote I've ever put on the Board of Regents, was voting for this," Harkin, of Cumming, said of the new lab. "We had this tour of the old building, it was like a condemned building that hadn't been condemned yet. This is just beautiful."

Researchers and scientists of the University Hygienic Lab will move into their new facility on the University of Iowa's Oakdale campus sometime in June. In the meantime, there will be a building dedication, with a ribbon cutting, presentation and public tours, May 5. Tours begin at 1 p.m., with the ceremony starting at 3:15 p.m.

State regents got a sneak peek Wednesday and were thrilled with what they saw.

"It's an awesome building and a great project for the state of Iowa," Regent Bob Downer, of Iowa City, said. "There is so much done here that is important to the health and safety of Iowans and beyond."

Responsibilities of the lab -- detecting disease outbreaks, addressing bioterrorism and preserving water, air and soil quality in Iowa -- require high levels of security, which the new site includes. The new site allows plenty of flexible space for testing in the case of outbreaks or emergencies, lab director Christopher Atchison said. Almost all of the new lab gets natural sunlight, making it bright and airy.

Downer said he recalls reading in regents documents that past boards dating back to 1956 tried to approve funding for a new hygienic lab.

"It was a long time coming but it appears to be worth the wait," he said.