Columbia-based University of Missouri shuttered its $10 million International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine June 30 as part of its plan to reduce costs at the institution, according to the Columbia Missourian.
The university's campus has housed the institute since 2008.
A spokesperson told the publication in an email the decision resulted from the facility's "substantial operating expenses, as well as the lack of grant funding [the institute] has received in recent years." Officials said closing the facility will save the university approximately $1.5 million per year, the report states.
The closure will reportedly affect 17 full-time and part-time employees through a combination of layoffs and contract nonrenewals. Frederick Hawthorne, PhD, director of the institute and a recipient of the National Medal of Science in 2012, will still serve as a university employee, though his ongoing role is unclear, according to the report.
While the future of the building remains undetermined, the spokesperson said, it will likely continue to be used as a research facility of some kind.
Researchers at the institution studied nanotechnology and its ability to fight certain illnesses.
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