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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University has agreed to acquire the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute in Morgantown.
WVU announced Tuesday the planned acquisition of the Institute, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.
Now-retired U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller founded the nonprofit Institute in 1999 in honor of his mother, who died from complications from Alzheimer's disease. The Institute is located at WVU's Health Sciences Center campus.
Under the terms of the agreement, WVU would consolidate its neurosciences research under a new WVU Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute.
Eleven Institute employees will be offered comparable positions at WVU. The university plans to invest about $8.4 million over the next several years, including the amounts paid for the Institute's assets and name.
"I am happy that West Virginia University, which has collaborated with the Institute since the beginning, is stepping forward to continue the battle against Alzheimer's and similar diseases," Rockefeller said in a statement released by the university.
Initially, the combined Institute will comprise six research groups. Four are currently within the WVU Centers for Neuroscience: addiction research; a center for basic and translational stroke research; cognitive neuroscience, and a sensory neuroscience research center. Two new centers will be formed for brain health and neurodegenerative diseases.
"We now have a critical mass of neuroscience research — not just in our health schools, but in laboratories and health facilities throughout WVU," said Clay Marsh, WVU's vice president for health sciences and executive dean of the School of Medicine.
The agreement must be approved by a federal bankruptcy court.
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