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Published 11/11/22 in Commercial Observer

The University of Maryland is jumping on board the life sciences bandwagon, and will create a new biotech campus in Bethesda, Md. 

The new campus, to be called The University of Maryland 3 — Institute for Health Computing, will be located near the North Bethesda Metro station, according to the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership, a collaboration between the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the University of Maryland, College Park. 

Partnering with the University of Maryland Medical System and Montgomery County officials, the institution will bring together leaders from the Baltimore and College Park campuses to study health care innovations that utilize artificial intelligence and data from the university’s health system. 

MPowering the State will provide initial funding of $25 million, while Montgomery County will provide an extra $40 million over six years to develop the North Bethesda site. 

“We are witnessing an unprecedented revolution in health care that is being driven by biomedical innovation, the digitization of medical records, and advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence,” Bruce E. Jarrell, UMB’s president, said in a prepared statement. “This new institute will include all of these elements in a synergistic effect that will transform our health care system.”

The Institute for Health Computing will first open approximately 25,000 square feet of leased space in early 2023, with plans for the completion of a building on a WMATA-owned parcel of land next to the Metro station sometime in 2028. No information on a developer or location of the lease was revealed.

“Scaling up research to address grand challenges in the life sciences has shifted from collecting data to using cutting-edge technology to discover meaningful patterns hidden in the data,” Darryll J. Pines, president of the University of Maryland, College Park, said in a prepared statement. “This Institute will tap world-class researchers who are exploring artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual and augmented reality to collaborate with medical experts, leading to broad impacts on human health and well-being.”

Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.