Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
A $5 million gift from a graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine will help support creation of an anatomy lab at the school’s $205 million Medical Education and Research Building, under construction on the northern outskirts of downtown.
The gift is the latest in a series of contributions from Dr. Diane K. Werth and her late husband, Dr. Allan S. Manalan, who passed away in October 2020 from appendiceal cancer.
The couple met while attending IU School of Medicine, and each started their career in cardiology by practicing at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago. Together, they endowed an IU School of Medicine professorship, supported fellows within the division of cardiology and backed research in peritoneal surface cancers.
The anatomy lab will move from the school of medicine’s longtime base of operations on the former campus of IUPUI to the new Medical Education and Research Building at 350 W. 14th St. All classroom instruction for IU medical students will transfer to the building.
It’s expected to be complete for the first day of medical school classes on July 29, 2025.
The anatomy lab, which will be located on the second floor of the 11-story building, has been designed with better acoustics, better lighting and better video equipment than the current facility, school officials said.
It will accommodate up to 35 work stations and 150 students, whose work can be monitored by overhead cameras. Wall-mounted flat screens will allow faculty to highlight and describe physical structures. Work spaces also will be more flexible to better accommodate small groups.
“It means we can do more demonstrations,” said Andrew Deane, an associate professor of anatomy, cell biology and physiology for the school, in a media release. “It allows me to nicely position structures under a camera, and when we get to a tricky part of a lab, I can turn it on and show structures. It makes it easier for us all to communicate.”
The lab will be 6,366 square feet, with two additional “flex” labs of 617 square feet and 705 square feet. The current lab is 6,230 square feet. The lab also will include locker space for faculty and students.
Advances in electronic imaging have steadily digitized medical education, according to school officials. The anatomy lab will emphasize hands-on physical dissection as a vital component of medical training.
“The gross anatomy laboratory experience for medical students is foundational to their medical education and integral to their professional identity formation as future physicians,” said Tracy C. Vargo-Gogola, who oversees the anatomy course taught at all nine IU School of Medicine campuses, in a media release.
“Dr. Werth’s gift highlights and honors the importance of this experience in medical education. We are especially grateful for this gift, which will allow us to continue to provide this pivotal experience for our students,” Vargo-Gogola said.
Creation of the Medical Education and Research Building is taking place in conjunction with IU Health’s massive, downtown consolidation of its Methodist and University hospitals onto one campus. That project will expand the Methodist Hospital campus south from 16th Street to 12th Street between Capitol Avenue and Interstate 65. The Medical Education and Research Building will be part of the expanded campus.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.