Inaugurated in 2008, the McGill Life Sciences Complex was designed to encourage greater interdisciplinary research by bringing some of the world’s key scientists under one roof. The Complex is composed of two newer facilities, the Francesco Bellini Life Sciences Building and the Cancer Research Building, both designed by architectural firm Diamond Schmitt, as well as the existing McIntyre Medical Sciences Building and Stewart Biological Sciences Building.
Francesco Bellini, OC, said that his 2002 gift recognized the critical role that McGill researchers have played in his past endeavours. In the late 1980s, Bellini collaborated with McGill professors Bernard Belleau, OC, and Mark Wainberg, OC, to develop and commercialize 3TC, a drug that revolutionized the treatment of HIV and AIDS.
In 2012, the new buildings were awarded LEED gold certification from the Canada Green Building Council.