MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University will combine a number of its brain health programs under the umbrella of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute.
“This is a really unusual opportunity for us to start to work together to really change the trajectory of some of these issues like Alzheimer’s or other neurologic diseases and start to frame a different paradigm for people in our state,” explained Dr. Clay Marsh, WVU’s vice president for health sciences and executive dean of the School of Medicine.
In 1999, former U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller founded The Institute named for his mother who died from complications of Alzheimer’s.
WVU’s acquisition of BRNI follows The Institute’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
WVU will invest a total of $8.35 million over the next several years, including the amounts paid to BRNI for the assets and name.
According to Marsh, the university’s research, clinical and education programs in neurological health and disease will work in alignment with the original mission of the BRNI.
“We believe that the integration of our research programs, clinical programs and educational programs are really important parts of that goal is to transition from treatment of disease to stopping disease and trying to give people the best and highest quality lives.”
The Institute will initially comprise six research groups. They include four groups now housed in the WVU Centers for Neuroscience: addiction research; a center for basic and translational stroke research; a cognitive neuroscience group; and a sensory neuroscience research center. The Institute will also include two newly formed centers for brain health and for neurodegenerative diseases.
“What we really want to start to focus our efforts at building the capacity for the most sophisticated and precise care, treatment and prevention in a specific set of areas,” added Marsh.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court will have to approve the terms of the agreement between WVU and BRNI.
As proposed in the agreement, 11 current employees will be offered comparable positions at WVU. WVU already owns the building on its Health Sciences campus where the Institute is located.