The new bulk dry heat sterilizer is capable of substantially increasing throughput of research equipment while saving water and power. Photo: Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner, UAB Marketing and CommunicationsResearch does not just take place in labs. Across UAB’s campus, a network of people and equipment make possible much of the work that supports the institution’s $780 million in annual research expenditures.
Investments in research infrastructure are a major piece of the Research Strategic Initiative: Growth with Purpose, UAB’s bold plan to expand its impact on people’s lives by reaching $1 billion in research expenditures.
At a brief ceremony on Dec. 12, research leaders celebrated a very tangible symbol of that investment: the installation of a massive bulk dry heat sterilizer capable of substantially increasing throughput of research equipment while saving water and power. This is the first large sterilizer on campus to use dry heat instead of steam heat, explained David Schwebel, Ph.D., associate vice president for Research Facilities and Infrastructure in the UAB Office of Research. The $1 million project was made possible through a grant from the National Institutes of Health as well as internal investments from the Heersink School of Medicine and the university’s Office of Research and its Animal Resources Program, and the work of UAB Facilities, Schwebel added. It will be used by dozens of research teams on campus.
“We are in a period of unprecedented growth at UAB, and there are plenty of opportunities for ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings,” said Chris Brown, Ph.D., vice president of Research. “Including the installation of this bulk dry heat sterilizer among those celebrations is entirely appropriate. It is a key piece of our research infrastructure that we need to continue to grow the impact of our research.”
Erik Dohm, DVM, executive director of the Animal Resources Program (foreground), and Chris Brown, Ph.D., vice president for Research (background), inspect the inside of the sterilizer. Photo: Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner, UAB Marketing and CommunicationsThe sterilizer “also fits in with another part of our university strategic plan [Forging Ahead], which is striving to be a sustainable campus,” Brown said. Dry heat only uses electricity, whereas steam sterilization uses water, steam and electricity, explains Erik Dohm, DVM, executive director of the Animal Resources Program.
The size of the new dry heat sterilizer means that more equipment can be cleaned at one time, Schwebel says, which in turn means that researchers get their equipment back faster. The project would not have been possible without the substantial support of UAB Facilities for the necessary renovations to install the dry heat sterilizer, he adds.
Speaking to the members of the Animal Resources Program and other research staff present at the event, Victor Darley-Usmar, Ph.D., senior associate dean for Research Compliance and Administration in the Heersink School of Medicine, expressed his gratitude for their work behind the scenes. “Without you, the research engine that we have would fail us,” Darley-Usmar said. “We need to provide you with the tools you need to do your job, and this is the right step forward.” In fact, it is only a small part of modernization work across UAB’s research facilities and equipment that is to come in the next few years, he added. “We’ve got momentum, and we’re going in the right direction…. and we will have lots of opportunities for more celebrations as we go forward.”
David Schwebel, Ph.D. (left), associate vice president for Research Facilities and Infrastructure, discusses the new sterilizer with researchers Michael Lopez, M.D., Ph.D. (center) and Matthew Alexander, Ph.D. (right), both faculty in the Division of Pediatric Neurology. Photo: Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner, UAB Marketing and Communications
