Construction cranes towering over the massive UW Hospital complex signal a big step in positioning Madison for a new era of medical research, officials say. Work started this month on the second tower of the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, a $600 million, three-tower hub going up next to the hospital.
The institutes will eventually house some 1,700 researchers and lab workers from a variety of fields to study cancer, heart disease, brain disorders and other conditions. Most are moving from aging buildings on the central UW-Madison campus.