Purdue University has received $14.9 million in federal stimulus funding from the National Institutes of Health to expand its Bindley Bioscience Center for cancer and life sciences research.

The West Lafayette school announced the grant today. In response, Purdue expects to hire 30 to 40 new people to conduct federally-funded research on animals at the center, once it opens in April 2013.

The 29,000-square-foot expansion will be called the Multidisciplinary Cancer Research Facility at Purdue. Construction is set to begin in August.

"A larger Bindley Bioscience Center also helps position Indiana to gain a larger share of $14 billion market for life sciences research and development, an industry segment that's growing 15 percent a year,” said Richard O. Buckius, Purdue vice president for research.

The Bindley Bioscence Center, located on Purdue’s Discovery Park research campus, opened in 2005. The existing facility is 50,000 square feet.