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9 minutes ago, BeerNut said:

@102IAHexpressSmithville Research Park is relocating to TMC3.  I'm not sure how much impact this will have. 

 

That's true. I'm also not sure about the impact, but probably can't hurt? But keep in mind Smithville is part of the MD Anderson system (I believe?) and it's just consolidating into the new facility. It's not really a true lateral move from an outside lab/professor. 

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I worked as a biomedical researcher for several years at UT Med- Houston. There are zillions of research labs spread out throughout  the TMC. I am somewhat confused about how this one will be set up.  Are there going to be a smattering of labs from UT Med, MD Anderson, Baylor Med, the Institute for Molecular Med, Texas A&M etc etc? 

 

I suppose the research will be focused on specific areas. Anyone know?

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6 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said:

I worked as a biomedical researcher for several years at UT Med- Houston. There are zillions of research labs spread out throughout  the TMC. I am somewhat confused about how this one will be set up.  Are there going to be a smattering of labs from UT Med, MD Anderson, Baylor Med, the Institute for Molecular Med, Texas A&M etc etc? 

 

I suppose the research will be focused on specific areas. Anyone know?

 

Cool, my wife is also in biomedical! I have no idea how it will be setup, very good question.

 

I dare to say, although the design is very cool, it may be a design in search of a problem. My wife collaborates with labs all across the world, all the time. She did it a lot too, when she was at Methodist. She just picks up the phone or uses skype to move along the collaboration. Sometimes if there is very, very famous professor (literally a Nobel Laureate) that professor may have an "entourage" of post-docs and assistant professors that help coordinate things, and at -that- level it may help to meet those teams in person. But most collaborations can be achieved with technology. 

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6 hours ago, Twinsanity02 said:

I worked as a biomedical researcher for several years at UT Med- Houston. There are zillions of research labs spread out throughout  the TMC. I am somewhat confused about how this one will be set up.  Are there going to be a smattering of labs from UT Med, MD Anderson, Baylor Med, the Institute for Molecular Med, Texas A&M etc etc? 

 

I suppose the research will be focused on specific areas. Anyone know?

McKeon (TMC CEO) mentioned that these research buildings on the outside of the helix could house partnerships with industry. Like, for example, if Novartis partnered with MDA, it could be housed in MDA’s research building.

 

TMC3 is supposed to be a catalyst for letting the biotech/pharma industry into the TMC. I think, someone correct me if I’m wrong, there’s a clause or something within the TMC’s founding document that doesn’t allow industry/for-profit institutions on TMC land. 

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Kind of off topic, but there is a brilliant/scathing essay in the WSJ today written by Professor Azra Raza of Columbia Med. School, very critical of America's (TMC's) current approach to cancer research.

 

Quote

What we need now is a paradigm shift. Today, the newest methods generating the most research and expense tend to be focused on treating the worst cases—chasing after the last cancer cells in end-stage patients whose prognoses are the worst. …

 

So what is the solution?

For one thing, all of us in the biomedical sciences need to descend from our high horse and humbly admit where we have been wrong. We have sought to model cancer in petri dishes and mice, seeking out single drugs for simple genetic mutations. But cancer is far too complex a problem to be solved with such reductionism. We have not made much progress in the past 50 years and won’t advance much more in another 50 if we insist on the same-old same-old.

 

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cancer-is-still-beating-uswe-need-a-new-start-11570206319

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1 hour ago, Urbannizer said:

 

Man, they keep teasing us with the old renderings of the double-helix shaped building. I know they are more readily available, but every time I see them it gives me false hope.

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6 hours ago, CaptainJilliams said:

 

Man, they keep teasing us with the old renderings of the double-helix shaped building. I know they are more readily available, but every time I see them it gives me false hope.

False hope about what? They wouldn’t be showing anything if they weren’t planning on building it. That’s the main focal point of the development. 

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8 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

False hope about what? They wouldn’t be showing anything if they weren’t planning on building it. That’s the main focal point of the development. 

 

But I thought it was fairly certain that they had done away with the helix building design and were only going to make a ground level park in the shape of a double helix.

 

If I'm wrong, then great, I would prefer the original design. But until someone can confirm that, I wish they would stop using old renderings.

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4 hours ago, CaptainJilliams said:

 

But I thought it was fairly certain that they had done away with the helix building design and were only going to make a ground level park in the shape of a double helix.

 

If I'm wrong, then great, I would prefer the original design. But until someone can confirm that, I wish they would stop using old renderings.

 

On the looped-in pod he said they moved away from the elevated park design because it wasn't quite as open as they would have liked. The TMC president kept saying it had a stadium-feel. He stated, and its confirmed on the linked pod, that it will be a flatter park/promenade/walking area for people to utilize on breaks, before work, during work, whenever. On the looped-in pod he mentioned that he'd want people people to "collide" while utilizing the space, whether its yoga, morning runs, etc, so I'm assuming there will be programming for that space. Those are the actual renderings from the current designer.

 

As to the parking, I don't know where that came from. On the looped-in pod, and the linked pod reconfirmed, he stated no cars will be able to go through the campus, other than the designed pathways to be used for deliveries. This construction pod mentioned GFR, food halls, and bike pathways?!? HAIF dreams do come true!

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9 hours ago, X.R. said:

 

On the looped-in pod he said they moved away from the elevated park design because it wasn't quite as open as they would have liked. The TMC president kept saying it had a stadium-feel. He stated, and its confirmed on the linked pod, that it will be a flatter park/promenade/walking area for people to utilize on breaks, before work, during work, whenever. On the looped-in pod he mentioned that he'd want people people to "collide" while utilizing the space, whether its yoga, morning runs, etc, so I'm assuming there will be programming for that space. Those are the actual renderings from the current designer.

 

As to the parking, I don't know where that came from. On the looped-in pod, and the linked pod reconfirmed, he stated no cars will be able to go through the campus, other than the designed pathways to be used for deliveries. This construction pod mentioned GFR, food halls, and bike pathways?!? HAIF dreams do come true!

 

I'd imagine they will take cues from recent big tech projects that incorporate a lot of green space like Norman Fosters new Apple HQ or BIG's Google HQ. Could be a very compelling space if done right and with it being framed by the buildings around it I would imagine it will be real draw, and such a stark contrast to TMC proper which is this incredibly dense hunk of buildings.

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On 10/25/2019 at 7:00 AM, CaptainJilliams said:

 

But I thought it was fairly certain that they had done away with the helix building design and were only going to make a ground level park in the shape of a double helix.

 

If I'm wrong, then great, I would prefer the original design. But until someone can confirm that, I wish they would stop using old renderings.

 

Yes, they moved away from the double helix building design some time ago.   If "they" is referring to the Texas Medical Center, I am pretty sure "they" have stopped using the old renderings.  The podcast and renderings that triggered this conversation were not published by the TMC, but were on the website of BuildCentral.  BuildCentral is in Chicago and develops and markets innovative database products that help suppliers and vendors find new opportunities and customers. Our focused markets include construction, medical, hospitality, and multi-family.

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48 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said:

The TMC website depicts a 'double helix" of sorts ( not to be too pedantic, but it is lacking all the Nitrogenous bases having only the sugar phosphate backbone). Okay that was pedantic, nevertheless there is a sort of double helix depicted. So what is this about no double helix?

 

There is no double helix building as was originally envisioned.  The new/current double helix plan is park/open space.

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On 10/25/2019 at 12:05 PM, X.R. said:

 On the looped-in pod he mentioned that he'd want people people to "collide" while utilizing the space, whether its yoga, morning runs, etc, so I'm assuming there will be programming for that space. Those are the actual renderings from the current designer.

 

 

Great idea on paper. In reality I wonder if anyone over there has talked to an actual bio-medical researcher. "Yoga, morning runs?" I'm just not seeing it. These scientists are not soccer moms. They are usually pretty introverted. For the most part very, very few Americans. Mostly foreigners on visa. Typically they are focused on their pipetting and not much else. 

 

I could see TMC staff/non scientists and Americans who live near by use the space to "collide." But I would imagine that they are not the target users of this space? 

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Actually a pretty big update as far as visuals go. Would certainly like to see more ground level images, but its clear upon closer examination that they have been doing a lot of meet ups with the various institutions involved. Whats nice is that this won't be cookie cutter buildings, but dedicated buildings designed specifically for each institution. The res highrise is a pleasant surprise. Thanks @ekdrm2d1 for the update.

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1 hour ago, Texasota said:

by "odd" do you mean "very convenient for the people doing research who can afford to live in said highrise"?

 

18 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Or maybe doctors who work in the med center or long term patients who like their families to be close, while investing in Houston real estate in the med center.

 

Well, you can find convenient real estate right across the street. And most people doing research cannot afford highrise apartments. Doctors and long term patients will more likely be affiliated with the (original) medical center, not TMC3, which as I understand it is more of a biomed research park. If the goal of the park is to attract research institutions who want to work collaboratively with other research institutions, why take up space with apartments that can go right outside the research park?

 

I'm trying to think of other research centers/parks that have highrise residential in the middle. I'm sure there's a good reason they're doing this, just trying to understand what it is.

 

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I agree it is very odd. This is becoming a taxpayer boondoggle. Not sure who will afford to live there, but it's not post-doc/scientists. I know this HAIF, but let me bring it back down to reality. Here are the NIH post doc salary limits for 2019. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/grants-contracts/salary-cap-and-stipend-levels-announced

Here are the HISD salary limits for teachers in 2019. https://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain/16074/salary schedules/2019-2020 salary schedules/2019-2020 Initial Compensation Placement Tables.pdf

Yes, you read that right, teachers earn more than the vast majority of post docs and scientists.

So, again, who is this TMC3 project for? Who benefits from this tax payer funded project? 

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12 minutes ago, Naviguessor said:

Tax Payer Funded? 

 

TMC3 is comprised of Texas A&M University Health Science Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth) and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center which are all still public institutions funded courtesy of the Texas Taxpayer as far as I can remember. Baylor College of Medicine is private. The TMC is a special non-profit district funded via public and private dollars. So yes, TMC3 is tax payer funded. 

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14 minutes ago, Texasota said:

If they made the decision to provide intentionally subsidized housing for postdocs, that would be amazing. Not saying that's what they're doing, but it would be a great idea.

 

Yeah, they will never do that. Not even Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, NYU, or Stanford post-docs get subsidized housing. In fact at those top institutions postdocs are luckily to get NIH base salary because there is such demand to do research there that a lot of postdocs will work for even less than postdoc minimums. Which is obviously in violation of statute, but it is not unheard of. 

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27 minutes ago, 102IAHexpress said:

 

TMC3 is comprised of Texas A&M University Health Science Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth) and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center which are all still public institutions funded courtesy of the Texas Taxpayer as far as I can remember. Baylor College of Medicine is private. The TMC is a special non-profit district funded via public and private dollars. So yes, TMC3 is tax payer funded. 

The entire TMC3 project isn't taxpayer funded. A&M, UTHSC, MDA, etc. pay for their own building (the one that's touching the DNA helix) within TMC3, but the convention space, the hotel, the residential parts are all privately developed.

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1 hour ago, 102IAHexpress said:

So, again, who is this TMC3 project for? Who benefits from this tax payer funded project? 

 

Pretty sure the goal is to bring a lucrative industry (biotech) to Houston and Texas that currently does not exist here to any meaningful degree. If that industry includes tens of thousands of young, highly intelligent people willing to work for a pittance, all the better for the stakeholders!

 

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8 minutes ago, blackjacks100 said:

The entire TMC3 project isn't taxpayer funded. A&M, UTHSC, MDA, etc. pay for their own building (the one that's touching the DNA helix) within TMC3, but the convention space, the hotel, the residential parts are all privately developed.

 

What is your source for that? Not doubting you. I just haven't seen that anywhere in the project highlights. Who is the private developer developing the hotel/residential buildings? Will it still be on TMC3 owned land? 

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16 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Pretty sure the goal is to bring a lucrative industry (biotech) to Houston and Texas that currently does not exist here to any meaningful degree. If that industry includes tens of thousands of young, highly intelligent people willing to work for a pittance, all the better for the stakeholders!

 

 

I get what you're saying. But you may be conflating industries. Biotech workers and biomedical researchers are completely different.  I would love thousands of biotech workers in Houston. Bio tech companies pay their scientists very very well. Those corporate scientists settle down, establish roots and contribute to the community. That's not what biomedical researchers do. They instead earn very little, mostly because they are academics not corporate scientists. Once they finish their academic research they return to whatever country they are from. 

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1 hour ago, 102IAHexpress said:

So, again, who is this TMC3 project for? Who benefits from this tax payer funded project? 

Easy answer. All of us.

 

The project brings in a major research center that can lead to further industries we aren't even aware of will exist. But forget the potential part, let's focus on what it brings in day one. It brings a highly skilled, high income work force into the city of Houston. The increased level of income walking around what used to be a parking lot (hah) is now contributing to the local economy... the restaurants and everything else around there. That increased level of activity, along with those people's incomes, brings in more tax revenue for both the state and local entities... which goes to funding your trash pick up, your police department and further investment in infrastructure.

 

See, you have to think about the big picture. An initial investment can mean huge gains for the future of this city. Plus, if we don't build it here in the US, I can assure you, this research will go to places like China. We have to remain competitive.

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The Residential tower appears to be on the northeast corner of the site, close to the Main portion of the Medical Center, near Hermann Park, close to other large high-rise multifamily developments and where, apparently, there is high demand.  The building does not appear to directly front the helix center nor detract from the overall effect or purpose of the very large project.  What's the big deal? 

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24 minutes ago, Naviguessor said:

The Residential tower appears to be on the northeast corner of the site, close to the Main portion of the Medical Center, near Hermann Park, close to other large high-rise multifamily developments and where, apparently, there is high demand.  The building does not appear to directly front the helix center nor detract from the overall effect or purpose of the very large project.  What's the big deal? 

 

Who said there was a big deal? Just seems curious to have apartments inside a research center. Presumably this thing will be in high demand once it takes off, and we want to attract as much tech investment as we can.

 

38 minutes ago, 102IAHexpress said:

 

I get what you're saying. But you may be conflating industries. Biotech workers and biomedical researchers are completely different.  I would love thousands of biotech workers in Houston. Bio tech companies pay their scientists very very well. Those corporate scientists settle down, establish roots and contribute to the community. That's not what biomedical researchers do. They instead earn very little, mostly because they are academics not corporate scientists. Once they finish their academic research they return to whatever country they are from. 

 

I guess if we go back and listen to the podcasts it will clarify which one it is. I am thinking biotech.

 

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53 minutes ago, Triton said:

Easy answer. All of us.

 

The project brings in a major research center that can lead to further industries we aren't even aware of will exist. But forget the potential part, let's focus on what it brings in day one. It brings a highly skilled, high income work force into the city of Houston. The increased level of income walking around what used to be a parking lot (hah) is now contributing to the local economy... the restaurants and everything else around there. That increased level of activity, along with those people's incomes, brings in more tax revenue for both the state and local entities... which goes to funding your trash pick up, your police department and further investment in infrastructure.

 

See, you have to think about the big picture. An initial investment can mean huge gains for the future of this city. Plus, if we don't build it here in the US, I can assure you, this research will go to places like China. We have to remain competitive.

 

I can assure you, this research in particular would never go to a professor in China. Cancer and heart disease are not funded in high numbers in China because, well, the Chinese don't get cancer and heart disease in the numbers Americans do. And even if it did. So what? If the research is published for the whole world to read, then great. The whole world benefits.

 

Also, It won't bring in a high income workforce. These are academic doctors not medical doctors. See my post above. They earn less than HISD teachers. My wife is a professor of medicine at Northwestern Medical School. One of the best medical schools in the world. She barley earns more than a Chicago public school teacher, with way fewer benefits. We need to do a better job of explaining exactly what medical research is and what it is not, I can see just from this thread there are a lot of misconceptions. 

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1 hour ago, 102IAHexpress said:

 

What is your source for that? Not doubting you. I just haven't seen that anywhere in the project highlights. Who is the private developer developing the hotel/residential buildings? Will it still be on TMC3 owned land? 

I believe McKeon talked about it in the State of TMC 2017 and 2018. There isn’t a name to the developer because they’re still in the planning stages. You’d think the board of regents for A&M, UTHSC, MDA, etc. would be on board if they had to pay for a hotel, residential tower, and convention space? And yes this is all on TMC land. 

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14 minutes ago, 102IAHexpress said:

 

I can assure you, this research in particular would never go to a professor in China. Cancer and heart disease are not funded in high numbers in China because, well, the Chinese don't get cancer and heart disease in the numbers Americans do. And even if it did. So what? If the research is published for the whole world to read, then great. The whole world benefits.

 

Also, It won't bring in a high income workforce. These are academic doctors not medical doctors. See my post above. They earn less than HISD teachers. My wife is a professor of medicine at Northwestern Medical School. One of the best medical schools in the world. She barley earns more than a Chicago public school teacher, with way fewer benefits. We need to do a better job of explaining exactly what medical research is and what it is not, I can see just from this thread there are a lot of misconceptions. 

I believe you keep thinking TMC3 is for academic research only. The goal of TMC3, as outlined and said repeatedly by McKeon, is to bring the life sciences industry into Houston. He wants Novartis, Roche, AbbVie, etc. to setup shop here like they did in Boston and SF. TMC3 is there so that the academics (UTHSC, MDA, BMC, etc.) can partner with these companies. The reason this is important is because before TMC3 was even conceptualized NO industry (for-profit) was allowed on TMC land. If you’re a biotech company and want to partner with MDA but have to walk across the bayou instead of next door you don’t want that. They had to change the TMC’s covenant so that private industry can setup shop on TMC land and thus be closer to the academics. 

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33 minutes ago, 102IAHexpress said:

 

Also, It won't bring in a high income workforce. These are academic doctors not medical doctors. See my post above. They earn less than HISD teachers. My wife is a professor of medicine at Northwestern Medical School. One of the best medical schools in the world. She barley earns more than a Chicago public school teacher, with way fewer benefits. We need to do a better job of explaining exactly what medical research is and what it is not, I can see just from this thread there are a lot of misconceptions. 

 

Are you sure this is biomed and not biotech? I thought that question was still open. Do your comments still apply to biotech?

 

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30 minutes ago, blackjacks100 said:

I believe McKeon talked about it in the State of TMC 2017 and 2018. There isn’t a name to the developer because they’re still in the planning stages. You’d think the board of regents for A&M, UTHSC, MDA, etc. would be on board if they had to pay for a hotel, residential tower, and convention space? And yes this is all on TMC land. 

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the info. I was thinking the opposite. I figured they would have wanted a piece of the hotel and convention center action, why give it up to a private developer when they could profit from it? 

 

Alright then, if it is a private developer spending money on the hotel/residential. Then I have no problem with it.  It's their private money. They can do whatever they want with it. 

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Slightly off topic. But just to give you an idea of the competition against TMC3. This is the new collaborative biomedical institute that opened up here at Northwestern Medical a couple of months ago. My wife is a professor of medicne and surgery in the "old" part of the building that connects to the new institute. 

 

 

 

 

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13 hours ago, 102IAHexpress said:

Slightly off topic. But just to give you an idea of the competition against TMC3. This is the new collaborative biomedical institute that opened up here at Northwestern Medical a couple of months ago. My wife is a professor of medicne and surgery in the "old" part of the building that connects to the new institute. 

 

 

 

 

 

Was this a design in search of a problem?

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7 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

Was this a design in search of a problem?


I don’t think so. You can tell scientists were consulted. The design is very practical. No areas to “collide,” no trails for morning runs or green space for yoga. Lol.
 

Just pure science. Which leads to better research, which leads to increased credibility, which leads to interest from private industry, which leads to private capital investment. 

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1 hour ago, 102IAHexpress said:


I don’t think so. You can tell scientists were consulted. The design is very practical. No areas to “collide,” no trails for morning runs or green space for yoga. Lol.
 

Just pure science. Which leads to better research, which leads to increased credibility, which leads to interest from private industry, which leads to private capital investment. 

 

And yet, there is a lot of talk of collaboration in Northwestern's discussions and promotions of this building, including serendipitous collaborations that arise from physical proximity and "collisions."  For example:  “Collaborations will explode on campus,” said Dr. Susan Quaggin, director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular and Renal Research Institute. “I just know scientists will start talking about things that will lead to new directions and experiments, and bridge clinical and basic science.” 

 

It seems Northwestern, similar to the TMC, is under the impression that physical interactions and not just technological collaboration, are still important.

 

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2 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

And yet, there is a lot of talk of collaboration in Northwestern's discussions and promotions of this building, including serendipitous collaborations that arise from physical proximity and "collisions."  For example:  “Collaborations will explode on campus,” said Dr. Susan Quaggin, director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular and Renal Research Institute. “I just know scientists will start talking about things that will lead to new directions and experiments, and bridge clinical and basic science.” 

 

It seems Northwestern, similar to the TMC, is under the impression that physical interactions and not just technological collaboration, are still important.

 

 

You quoted Dr. Quaggin! That's my wife's former boss.

 

I agree physical interactions are important. I'm not trying to totally discount them. But as you can see no yoga mats anywhere in NU's video. Conference rooms make sense. Running trails not so much.

 

I was just trying to show HAIF how a little more serious university promotes their facilities. Again, i'm not anti yoga or morning runs. I just have no idea what they have to do with serious research/and or private bio tech investment. However, If a biotech company/investor choses TMC3 over NU or Harvard, Stanford, etc. then I promise to eat humble pie. 

 

 

 

 

Edited by 102IAHexpress
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  • The title was changed to TMC Helix Park: Texas Medical Center Bio Research Campus

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