The Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine main campus can be easily seen from I-25 on the New Mexico State University (NMSU) campus. Fewer people know how Burrell College has been growing its research efforts off I-10. In the Southwest Production and Research Complex (SWPRC) at the Las Cruces Innovation and Industrial Park (LCIIP), Burrell College allows its faculty and students to do in-depth research on topics like diabetes, inflammation or long-term COVID effects. The College has also established a human physiology laboratory at the site that includes equipment for research on human performance as well as the scientific underpinnings of osteopathic manipulative medicine.
Assistant Dean of Research & Professor of Physiology Dr. Joseph Benoit and Director of Research Laboratories & Associate Professor of Physiology and Pathology Dr. Michael Woods were both astounded by the quality of the laboratories that were available at the site that were unused. The College has two main buildings at the SWPRC site: a laboratory for bioscience research and a dedicated space for human physiology research with willing participants.
“Our faculty have diverse research interests,” said Benoit. “This space is where our faculty can bring students who may have a research interest and supervise the growth of their students outside the traditional classroom setting.”
Dr. Woods explained that the students could conduct biomedical research of human physiology related to health and disease. “The research is grounded in knowing how the body works,” he said. Students participate in basic bench-top experiments – where they can approximate what might happen on a larger scale – as well as experiments with human volunteers.
The laboratory is a Bio-Safety Level-2 (BSL-2) space – a facility capable of handling infectious agents that has more strict entry and exit protocols – but nothing dangerous enough to warrant full biocontainment suits.
“Research and scholarly activity are of paramount importance in the academic realms of the biomedical sciences, clinical sciences, and educational sciences,” said Benoit. “We hope to grow our ability to use local participants to help us understand issues that may have a larger effect on the population. Right now, that would be looking at COVID.”
The LCIIP location also allows Burrell College to continue and expand collaborative research with NMSU and other national research institutions and medical centers and helps their ability to gain grant work that can study issues like biosafety.
“There is an energy and vision that the Rio Grande Valley can be a hub of research,” said Benoit. “We can see where it can grow if we have the right collaborative spirit.”
If you have questions about LCIIP, please contact the City of Las Cruces Economic Development Department at (575) 541-2286.