NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Rutgers University will receive $50 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This is the linchpin of federal funding that will be the primary source of funding for research activities planned at HELIX.
HELIX is a five-acre science, technology and “innovation campus” currently under construction directly across from New Brunswick Station. Rutgers University announced the $50 million grant on Monday, calling it a “transformative award” that will “directly lead to the development of the HELIX site in New Brunswick.”
HELIX’s idea was to bring New Jersey’s two largest universities (Rutgers University and Princeton University) and its two largest hospital networks (Hackensack Meridian University and RWJ Barnabas College) under one roof in the heart of the state. It’s about bringing people together and working together instead of competing. each other.
Murphy has previously said he envisions HELIX as the place where a new Facebook is invented, a new vaccine is developed or a cure for cancer is found.
“Think of all the things Rutgers is doing. Think of all the things Princeton is doing,” Murphy previously mused. “(You’ll be) able to walk down the hall and collaborate with scientific and pharmaceutical researchers. New businesses will be born here, new jobs will be created.”
Murphy, Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway (currently in his final year at the helm of the school), Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, and RWJ Barnabas Health CEO Mark Manigan on October 30th. A press conference will be held near Helix to announce $50 million in NIH funding.
So far, some of that $50 million has gone toward childhood asthma research, treating ER opioid overdoses, and preventing women from dying during childbirth.
In 2019, Dr. Rutgers created the Institute for Translational Medical Sciences, which includes Princeton University and NIT in their first collaboration. That same year, the NIH awarded the institute a five-year, $29 million research grant to fund research. The research institute will also be located within HELIX.
HELIX consists of three buildings. Nokia Bell Labs and Tel Aviv University become tenants
The HELIX campus (short for New Jersey Health + Life Science Exchange) consists of three buildings: H-1, H-2, and H-3.
So far, construction has just begun on H-1, the new home of Rutgers Medical School, which is scheduled to open in 2025.
Late last year, Nokia Bell Labs announced plans to leave Berkeley Heights and occupy all of H-2, with plans to move in in 2028.
H-3 is planned to be a 42-story apartment building. If built, it will be the tallest building in Central Jersey.
Two tenants have been secured so far. In 2021, Tel Aviv University announced plans to open a satellite campus in HELIX.
And late last year, Nokia Bell Labs announced plans to leave its current headquarters in Union County and move to Helix in 2028. Nokia plans to relocate approximately 1,000 employees to New Brunswick and make New Brunswick its new global headquarters for research and development.
Murphy previously said the possibility of private New Jersey companies such as Johnson & Johnson or Merck leasing space at Helix is ”wide open.” He touted the location’s easy access to Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., on the Northeast Corridor, a joint Amtrak/New Jersey Transit route.
Nokia is proud of its “world-class newly built facilities, proximity to all major cities along the Northeast Corridor, especially New York City, access to mass transit that provides multiple commuting options, and significant partnerships with the world.” He said he was drawn to move to Helix because of the “opportunity.” The city of New Brunswick has “class academic institutions and high quality livability.”
First Patch Report on HELIX: Rutgers University and Princeton University Come Under One Roof in New Jersey Tech Hub (2020)
Tel Aviv University Rutgers Tech Hub’s newest tenant (2021)
