Facilities and equipment to improve the treatment of respiratory diseases - National Jewish Health (NJH), the nation’s leading respiratory hospital, proposes renovating and modernizing the existing research laboratories on the 9th floor of the Goodman Building at its Denver, Colorado, campus. The project will expand institutional research capacity by creating a modern, safe, and flexible laboratory environment that supports innovative therapies for chronic lung diseases, including designer bacteriophage treatments for multidrug-resistant pulmonary infections and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for allergic, autoimmune, and malignant lung diseases. The goal is to advance research on intervening early in the pathobiology of disease to prevent the development and progression of chronic lung disease. The project will renovate existing laboratory space within the Goodman Building, a 10-story, 165,000-square-foot facility owned by National Jewish Health. No new building construction or expansion of the campus footprint will occur. The project will upgrade critical infrastructure and laboratory environments to support current and future biomedical research needs. Improvements include comprehensive HVAC upgrades, enhanced fire protection and suppression systems, replacement of laboratory casework, and modernization of interior finishes. HVAC modernization will establish reliable environmental controls necessary for advanced biomedical research. The project will replace existing supply and exhaust systems, install dedicated laboratory exhaust infrastructure, implement modern direct digital controls (DDC), and improve airflow management, pressurization, monitoring, and energy efficiency. These upgrades will provide stable, code-compliant conditions that protect research integrity, support biosafety requirements, and enable safe operation of laboratory equipment and specialized research spaces. To meet current fire and life-safety standards, the project will fully upgrade fire sprinkler and suppression systems throughout the 9th floor. New sprinkler heads, piping, fittings, and hydraulic improvements will provide complete floor coverage and increase protection for personnel, research assets, and critical scientific infrastructure supporting activities such as mass spectrometry, proteomics, and BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratory operations. Laboratory functionality will be further enhanced by replacing outdated casework and countertops with durable, laboratory-grade systems designed for improved chemical resistance, maintenance, utility integration, and flexibility. Additional interior improvements include chemical-resistant flooring, upgraded ceilings, wall finishes, and window treatments. These renovations will create a modern research environment capable of supporting evolving scientific programs. Following completion of the renovation, NJH will install advanced scientific equipment, including a Cytek Aurora-CS 5L spectral cell sorter, an automated fluorescent microscopy system, a Pearl IVIS bioluminescence imager, and a Bio-Rad real-time qPCR platform. Together, these capital investments will provide researchers with state-of-the-art tools to advance translational research and accelerate the development of novel therapies for respiratory, allergic, autoimmune, and infectious diseases.
