03/25/08 Gates Foundation funding WSU Global Animal Health building

Washington Ag March 25, 2008 Washington State University announced Monday that it has received a $25 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The money is to help construct a $35 million building that is to become the centerpiece in the University's new School for Global Animal Health. At a news conference in Seattle Dr. Fil Randazzo, senior program officer in Global Health Discovery at the Gates Foundation, explained why the research WSU will be doing on global infectious diseases that affect both animals and humans is important. Randazzo: "The link between between animal and human health is a strong one as we have seen over and over again with diseases with H-I-V, Sars and pandemic bird flu passing over from animal to humans." The new building on Washington State University's Pullman campus will provide approximately 20,000 assignable square feet of office, meeting, and research space for 12-15 research scientists and their support staff and graduate students. It will include a state-of-the-art infectious disease research facility that has been designed and equipped to meet today's standards for investigating emerging diseases. The 25-million dollar Gates Foundation grant is the largest private financial commitment in WSU's history. I'm Bob Hoff.