Advisory: Life Sciences Institute construction kickoff Wednesday

The University of Michigan’s Life Sciences Institute construction kickoff will feature a variety of events of interest to the media. These include:

•Media availability, 9-9:30 a.m., in Rackham East Conference Room with Institute co-directors Jack Dixon and Scott Emr. The Rackham Building is located at 915 E. Washington.

[Central Campus map, Rackham Building left center, Museum of Art (see below) lower left]

•Kickoff ceremony, 10-11 a.m., in Rackham Auditorium, featuring keynotes from Dixon and Emr, remarks by President Lee C. Bollinger, and by undergraduate students Meredith Miller and Nakia Williams. Ypsilanti High School teacher Robin Evans will present murals painted by her students on life sciences themes.

•Art, ethics and genetics panel discussion, 5-7 p.m., U-M Museum of Art, currently showing the exhibition, “Paradise Now: Picturing the Genetic Revolution.” Bollinger will moderate a panel including Carole Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman, partners in the New York-based company Lookout and independent curators of the exhibition; Peter Ubel, associate professor of internal medicine, U-M Medical School; and Elizabeth Petty, associate professor of internal medicine and of human genetics, U-M Medical School. The museum is at 525 S. State St.

For additional background:

News release on the kickoff: http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/Releases/2001/Mar01/r032701b.html

News release about artistic connections to the kickoff: http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/Releases/2001/Mar01/r032201a.html

News release about the appointment of Alan Saltiel as the first Institute faculty member: http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/Releases/2001/Mar01/r031501c.html

Contact Colleen Newvine at the phone number or email above if you plan to attend any of these events so that we can prepare enough media materials for all in attendance.

Life Sciences InstituteJack DixonCentral Campus mapLee C. BollingerMuseum of Arthttp://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/Releases/2001/Mar01/r032701b.htmlhttp://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/Releases/2001/Mar01/r032201a.html