SRI International has completed the final stage of expansion of its 40,000-square-foot R&D facility in Harrisonburg, Va. SRI funded the $2.8 million build-out to further advance its bioscience research capabilities at SRI's Shenandoah Valley (SRI SV) Center for Advanced Drug Research.

SRI's new biomedical facilities include more than 2,500 square feet of laboratory and storage areas for preclinical research, drug discovery and drug development programs. R&D at SRI Shenandoah Valley focuses on basic research, including emerging infectious diseases, metabolic diseases and proteomics; therapeutic discovery and development of drugs, vaccines and biologics; and personalized medicine, such as companion diagnostics and biomarkers.

As part of SRI's growth, SRI Biosciences has expanded its team. New hires include Thomas Voss, Tianyi "Tony" Wang and Lynn Chellarajan.

Voss, Ph.D., director of virology, Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, is researching new models for developing treatments for influenza and other infectious diseases. He joined SRI from the faculty of Tulane School of Medicine's department of microbiology and immunology. Previously, he worked in at Southern Research Institute, ultimately as vice president of the Homeland Security and Emerging Infectious Disease Division.

Wang, Ph.D., senior scientist, virology, Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, studies the entry mechanism of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and natural immunity against viruses. Previously, Wang was a faculty member in the University of Pittsburgh's department of infectious diseases and microbiology.

Chellarajan, laboratory supervisor, is the operational manager of SRI's new SRI SV preclinical laboratories and oversees the daily operation of a broad range of toxicology and pharmacology studies conducted to advance promising therapeutics from discovery  toward clinical trials. Previously, she worked at PharmaMar U.S., Millennium and Eisai.