Two years ago, it was an idea.
On Wednesday, it was a sandbox lined with 14 golden shovels.
In 18 months, it will be a $56 million, 80,000-square-foot building to house researchers from around the world to study rapidly growing diseases, such as the common flu and West Nile Virus.
Fourteen UF and state leaders donned white hard hats and dug into the earth with shovels at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Pathogens Research Facility.
The facility will feature the Emerging Pathogens Institute, which will be the country's first comprehensive interdisciplinary institute to address on-the-rise diseases in plants, animals and humans.
Dr. Glenn Morris, director of the institute, said eight UF colleges have already committed faculty members to the institute. Eventually, the institute will accommodate 45 researchers, Morris said.
He addressed a crowd of about 50 supporters huddled under a white tent at the ceremony.
His speech was followed by words from UF President Bernie Machen, Florida Board of Governors chairwoman Carolyn Roberts, UF Vice President for Research Win Phillips and a representative from the Florida Department of Health.
As the wind whipped through the tent on what Machen called a "Michigan spring day," he emphasized the need for a pathogens institute in Florida because of the state's overwhelming levels of travel and its humid climate.
He also touted the interdisciplinary aspects of the program compared to other institutes that only address specific diseases, such as anthrax and botulism.
"This is the most interdisciplinary activity that we've had since I've been here," Machen said after the ceremony.
"All of these things can only be done at a university like ours."
