93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
The early results of Mizzou’s $220-million Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building in Columbia have been terrific, according to UM System president Dr. Mun Choi.
“Since the opening, we can attribute $97-million in new awards for our faculty members that work in these areas of developing new treatments for type-2 diabetes. Developing a better understanding of imaging of neurological diseases,” President Choi tells 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable.”
President Choi predicts NextGen will reduce the cost of health care. Dr. Choi says one of NextGen’s primary goals is to make health care more affordable.
Former U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt has predicted that NextGen will cement Missouri’s place as a leader in biomedical research. Senator Blunt has predicted that NextGen will have a $5.6 billion impact on Missouri’s economy over the next 25 years.
NextGen has enjoyed strong, bipartisan support in the Missouri Legislature. State Sen. Greg Razer (D-Kansas City), a Mizzou graduate who serves on the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee, has predicted the facility will accelerate medical breakthroughs. Senator Razer describes it as a space that can cure cancer.
