Events
The Michael Smith Laboratories celebrates 20 years since building opening
The Michael Smith Laboratories building opened 20 years ago today, on September 24, 2004.
Originally known as the Biotechnology Laboratory when founded in 1987 under the leadership of Dr. Michael Smith, this was Canada’s first interdisciplinary biotechnology unit. The concept was to bring together faculty with appointments across UBC, using biotechnology as a platform to collaborate. These collaborations now span the faculties of Science, Medicine, Applied Science, Forestry, Land and Food Systems, Pharmaceutical Sciences and beyond.
The Michael Smith Laboratories
At first, researchers were spread across different research spaces on the UBC Vancouver campus, and it quickly became clear that an official home for the Biotechnology Laboratory was needed.
After many years of planning, designing, and applying for funding resources, the unit was to get its own home on East Mall at the heart of the UBC campus. Around this time, after the passing of Dr. Smith, the Biotechnology Laboratory was renamed to the Michael Smith Laboratories, a name which the new building would also come to share.
Dr. Phil Hieter delivers a speech at the opening ceremonies for the Michael Smith Laboratories.
September 24, 2004 the doors officially opened, welcoming faculty, students, Deans, the UBC President, donors, and the family of Dr. Smith to celebrate this new home for research, teaching and outreach. This building became one of the Nobel Laureate’s many lasting legacies.
“The opening of the Michael Smith Laboratories building was a wonderful occasion that honoured Michael Smith’s vision and legacy, thanked donors, and brought the faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students of the MSL together under one roof for the first time. Michael Smith’s cross-disciplinary vision was ahead of its time when he founded the Biotechnology Laboratory in 1987, and in this building his vision is being fulfilled with extraordinary productivity and impact.” – Dr. Phil Hieter, MSL Director from 2001-2008
The design of the building plays a large part in honouring Dr. Smith to this day, the most recognizable tribute being the DNA helix glazed on the east-facing windows of the building. This segment of double-stranded DNA is taken directly from his Nobel Prize-winning paper, where he made a site-directed mutation to one of the paired bases. Looking closely, the strands include blue-green pairs (reflecting G-C basepairs) and yellow-orange pairs (reflecting A-T basepairs). There is one pairing, however, where these are mismatched – demonstrating where he substituted an ‘A’ in place of a ‘G’ in the ΦX-174 bacteriophage genome, which created an inactivating “STOP” codon mutation in the viral Gene E protein coding sequence1.
The site-directed mutation from Dr. Michael Smith’s Nobel Prize work, displayed on the windows of the MSL. The left shows the mutation from inside the Director’s office captured soon after opening, and the right shows the mutation from outside the building on East Mall, captured in September, 2024.
Since it’s opening, the Michael Smith Laboratories has filled its lab spaces with over 25 research teams, and is home to over 300 faculty, researchers and staff. These research teams have led breakthroughs such as being the first to decode tree and mountain pine beetle genomes, developing the first E. coli vaccine for cattle, and contributing to COVID-19 research and vaccine development during the pandemic.
“This 20th anniversary is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate two decades of research excellence and collaboration that have fueled innovation and real-world impact. It reaffirms our dedication to advancing research excellence as we translate groundbreaking discoveries into meaningful applications and expand our scientific outreach. As we move into the future, we are excited about the even greater opportunities for growth, innovation, and community engagement that lie ahead.” – Dr. Martin Hirst, MSL Director
This growth has stemmed from the foundations laid by our first Director, Dr. Michael Smith, building on his vision for an interdisciplinary biotechnology unit emphasizing research, education and community relevance.
Celebrating this 20-year milestone, we’re even more excited to see what’s to come in the next 20 years and beyond.