To usher in a new era of neuroscience research, education and community engagement, FAU held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the FAU Stiles- Nicholson Brain Institute at FAU’s John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter in January.

“A vibrant neuroscience ecosystem continues to grow and flourish on Florida Atlantic University’s Jupiter campus,” said FAU Interim President Stacy Volnick. “The state-of-the-art FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute was designed as a collaborative hub for neuroscience to foster connections and serve as a global destination for the world’s brightest scientists and students.”

The 58,000-square-foot facility was made possible by a $10 million gift from David J.S. Nicholson, and an initial investment of $35 million from the state of Florida, and the support of many research partners, including the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience.

“We are incredibly thankful to David for his support and for everyone’s hard work and dedication to make the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute a reality. We believe that the impact from bringing together the brightest minds within this facility to unravel the secrets of the brain will improve the quality of people’s lives for decades to come,” said Randy Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, the David J.S. Nicholson Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience, and a professor of biomedical science within FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine.

The new building provides space for laboratory, lecture and small meeting space to support research, room for up to 20 principal investigators and a similar number of research faculty and postdoctoral scholars, and educational experiences for trainees in neuroscience and its partner fields of biotechnology, bioengineering, bioinformatics/computer science, biochemistry and psychology.

Among other additions, the building will house the Advanced Cell Imaging Core Laboratory, where the visualization of brain cells takes place. The third floor is outfitted to support the researchers whose studies link molecular, cellular and computational neuroscience. Nicholson’s gift establishes the Stiles-Nicholson STEM Teacher Academy, providing experiential science, technology, engineering, and math training programs for educators through the Jupiter campus’ FAU High School.

“Conceiving, building and launching the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute has been a labor of love for us and we are ecstatic to showcase our outstanding research facility today,” Blakely said.