28,000-square-foot renovation brings teams together to drive the future of ophthalmology
St. Louis, MO — September 25, 2025 — The WashU Medicine John F. Hardesty, MD Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences has officially opened its state-of-the-art vision research hub on the 9th floor of the McDonnell Medical Sciences Building (MMSB). The milestone was celebrated with a Research Lab Open House on Friday, September 19, 2025, where faculty, staff, and the WashU community gathered to tour the new facility and recognize this transformative investment in vision science.
The multi-million renovation consolidates twelve principal investigator (PI) teams into a 28,000-square-foot, open-concept lab. The modern design maximizes collaboration across disciplines while providing room for future growth. By bringing together research teams from multiple McMillan floors into a single space, the department has created a smarter, more efficient environment to drive discovery in ophthalmology.
A Hub Designed for Collaboration and Growth
The newly completed research space features:
- Open wet lab areas to encourage collaboration and shared resources.
- The Bright Center suite, providing donor human eye tissues for experimentation.
- High-speed (10G) data infrastructure to support advanced big data processing.
- Specialized facilities including tissue culture labs, dark rooms, microscopy suites, and advanced imaging rooms.
- A new Visual Function Core with mouse visual behavior assays.
- Modern faculty offices, flexible staff workspaces, and conference rooms to support teamwork and adaptability.
Faculty and guests connect during our recent Open House event. 
Faculty and guests connect during our recent Open House event. 
Takeshi Yoshimatsu, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, with Todd Margolis, MD, PhD, Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor and former Department Chair, and Aaron Y. Lee, MD, MSCI, Arthur W. Stickle Distinguished Professor and current Chairman of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, at the recent Open House.
Building the Future of Vision Science
This space fosters a true sense of community. Trainees and staff across the Ophthalmology department are no longer siloed in individual labs but instead collaborate in a shared environment—working together to deepen our understanding of the visual system, how it functions, and how we can better repair it and treat disease.
Brian Clark, PhD, Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
With the Open House complete and researchers moving into the space, the department is poised to accelerate its impact in ophthalmology worldwide. The new hub provides faculty, trainees, and staff with cutting-edge resources to fuel discoveries that will improve and restore vision for patients around the globe.
About WashU Medicine
WashU Medicine is a global leader in academic medicine, including biomedical research, patient care and educational programs with 2,900 faculty. Its National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding portfolio is the second largest among U.S. medical schools and has grown 56% in the last seven years. Together with institutional investment, WashU Medicine commits well over $1 billion annually to basic and clinical research innovation and training. Its faculty practice is consistently within the top five in the country, with more than 1,900 faculty physicians practicing at 130 locations and who are also the medical staffs of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals of BJC HealthCare. WashU Medicine has a storied history in MD/PhD training, recently dedicated $100 million to scholarships and curriculum renewal for its medical students, and is home to top-notch training programs in every medical subspecialty as well as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and audiology and communications sciences.