IU School of Medicine opens new $230M education and research building

The Indiana University School of Medicine’s new $230 million, 11-story medical education and research building in Indianapolis is open, with classes beginning in just a few weeks.

The 326,000-square-foot building, 350 W. 14th St., is just south of the IU Neurosciences Research Center on 16th Street and next to Indiana University Health’s 864-bed, $4.3 billion downtown hospital complex.

With the new building comes the relocation of the IU School of Medicine’s primary classroom and education facility from its longtime home on the IU Indianapolis campus to be closer to the main IU Health teaching hospital, still under construction.

The new 44-acre health campus will span from 16th to 12th streets and from Capitol Avenue to Interstate 65—about eight square blocks. The new hospital facility, which consolidates IU Health’s Methodist and University hospitals, is expected to open in late 2027.

The IU School of Medicine will host an open house Thursday afternoon for students and faculty. Medical school classes start Aug. 4, but IU School of Medicine spokesperson Rory Appleton said some administrators and staff are already working in the building.

IU School of Medicine Dean Jay Hess said the building represents more than a decade of planning and partnership between the school and IU Health.

“By bringing education and research closer to patient care, we’re creating a space that will attract top talent, drive scientific discovery and train physicians who will improve health in Indiana and far beyond,” Hess said in a written statement. 

New IU building ‘full of opportunities’

The medical education and research building marks the first time since 1959 that the IU School of Medicine has built new classrooms on its Indianapolis campus.

The building includes research labs and workspaces, a library, an anatomy lab and a virtual surgery lab. The first three floors are designed for student education and the next eight floors for research.

The $230 million in funding for the building included $145 million from IU Health. Other donors included retired manufacturing executive Dave Roberts and his wife, Susan, who gave $10 million for neurological research labs, and Dr. Diane K. Werth, a cardiologist, who donated $5 million for the building’s anatomy lab.

Carl Russell, who is working on his medical degree from IU and PhD from Purdue University, said the new building is “full of opportunities” for doctors in training. “It’s going to be more updated, more purpose-driven rooms in the new med school building,” said Russell, who is interested in the link between kidney disease and bone biomechanics.

He said the building’s natural light and updated anatomy lab will help during the long hours of collaboration and study required by medical school.

“We spend a lot of time there learning the human body and the ins and outs of everything,” he said of the anatomy lab.

Early in medical school, students take courses such as “molecules to cells and tissues” to learn fundamental concepts in molecular, cell and tissue biology and in clinical genetics.

Medical students use the building for study sessions in quiet areas and collaborative group discussions of case studies.

“I finished my first two years of medical school, but from my limited experience medicine is all about collaboration,” Russell said. “It’s all about discussions, especially when you’re in those teaching settings, when you’re in a group of medical students, residents, fellows and the attending [physician].

“It’s all about constant communication and being able to put your ideas out there, whether it’s regarding ideas for a diagnosis or a possible treatment plan.”