SAN ANTONIO – UT Health San Antonio plans to begin construction soon on a multistory tower in the heart of the South Texas Medical Center that will be home to its $100 million Center for Brain Health.
The more than 103,000-square-foot structure will be unique to Texas, housing clinical and research space and significantly expanding the region’s capabilities in the study and treatment of neurodegenerative disease.
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“This will be an iconic building and home to a comprehensive neurologic and Alzheimer’s base for patients and families,” UT Health San Antonio President Dr. William Henrich said.
I first reported in October, as UT Health San Antonio hit a milestone in the construction of its $470 million Multispecialty and Research Hospital, that leadership was already pursuing more campus expansion, including the development of a new Center for Brain Health.
The five-story building will be constructed at the corner of Floyd Curl Drive and Charles Katz Drive, next to UT Health San Antonio’s Medical Arts & Research Center.
“We’ll be able to co-locate the entire Department of Neurology and all of the folks involved in the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases in the same place,” Henrich said. “What that does is creates the ability for a variety of experts to be close to patient care, to the patient infusion areas.”
UT Health San Antonio is already home to the only Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Texas. The new Center for Brain Health is expected to expand the institute’s collaborative research capabilities.
“We have about 150 clinical trials ongoing in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions to date,” Henrich said. “Fast forward two years and that number will increase significantly.”
The new center will house an infusion area that will allow UT Health San Antonio researchers to test novel therapies as they become available. It will also feature 7-Tesla MRI technology utilizing a stronger magnet that can better detect abnormalities.
The building, which Henrich believes will be one of a kind in Texas, is slated to open in spring 2025.
Read the full story on the San Antonio Business Journal.
Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.