Topping out ceremony for new institute researching disease causes

A topping out ceremony to mark the completion of the main construction stage of a new institute at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology was carried out by the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University today. The £30 million Oxford Molecular Pathology Institute (OMPI) has been designed jointly by Nightingale Associates and Make Architects. It has been built next to the original 1920s Dunn School building on the site of obsolete laboratories from the 1960s which have been demolished. The new building, designed for low energy use, will house over 200 researchers with laboratory, office and meeting room space over four floors. A basement will be largely assigned to support services. OMPI when complete will double the currently available space in the Dunn School of Pathology. Herman Waldmann, the Head of the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, said: 'The new Oxford Molecular Pathology Institute will offer fantastic facilities for carrying out front-line research into the causes of diseases such as cancer, HIV, flu, Alzheimer's and heart disease.