It takes an epic space to support more than 80 research teams as they look for elusive solutions to global health conditions. The Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences Research Center is going to offer that — and more — in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood.
Please join us for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate this significant milestone for community members, current and aspiring students, researchers, health care practitioners and everyone who will ultimately benefit from the research done here.
Date/time: The ceremony begins promptly at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 17. Media may arrive starting at 10:30 a.m.
Address/parking: One Ford Place, Detroit, MI 48202, near the intersection of Amsterdam and Third streets. Free parking will be reserved for media vehicles on the west side of Third Street, south of Amsterdam.
Interview opportunities: Leaders will be available immediately after the ceremony.
Media assets: Select photos and a news release will be sent immediately following the event. Additional photos and b-roll will be available in the afternoon.
Livestream available: www.henryfordmsu.org/groundbreaking
Expected speakers include:
- Bob Riney, Henry Ford Health President and CEO
- Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., MSU President
- Garlin Gilchrist II, Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
- Dan and Jennifer Gilbert, Founders, Gilbert Family Foundation
- Mike Duggan, City of Detroit Mayor
- Mary Sheffield, City of Detroit Council President
Additional participants:
- High school students in the Detroit-area MSU Community Band
About the research center and operations:
- When complete, the center will be 335,000 square feet, seven stories tall and MSU’s largest research facility to date.
- The new Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute, the first brick-and-mortar space dedicated to fibromatosis research, will also be housed here.
- Total construction cost is expected to be $335 million.
- Located on Henry Ford’s Detroit campus, the center is jointly funded and will be operated by Henry Ford Health and MSU.
- When fully staffed, more than 500 people will work here. The advanced research environment will enable Henry Ford + MSU to recruit the best principal investigators from around the nation.
- Collaborative research has already begun. In 2022, Henry Ford + MSU achieved recognition as an aligned research organization by the National Institutes of Health. In 2023, the partnership was recognized as the No. 1 NIH-funded women’s health research program in the nation by Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.
- The research center will enable scientists to expand the partnership’s research in areas including cancer, neuroscience, immunology and hypertension, with additional emphasis placed on evolving issues like public health, precision medicine and health disparities.
- This is part of the Future of Health: Detroit development, a $3 billion investment by Henry Ford Health, MSU and Tom Gores and the Detroit Pistons, that includes a major expansion of Henry Ford Hospital as well as the creation of the research center and mixed-use/mixed-income residential and retail buildings.
- The research center is expected to open in 2027.
