Northwestern administrators, professors and supporters praised the new Arthur and Gladys Pancoe-Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Life Sciences Pavilion at a dedication ceremony Friday for its ability to integrate traditional and clinical research.

The ceremony and reception followed a daylong symposium featuring guest speakers, including NU alumni, and a keynote address by a Nobel Prize winner and personal friend of the Pancoes, Dr. Paul Greengard.

NU alumnus Arthur Pancoe and his wife Gladys contributed $10 million to the building’s construction cost. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare provided $14.5 million and additional funding for research on the Chicago Campus. The university also received more than $10 million in federal grants for the building from the National Institutes of Health and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The building — located on the north end of the Evanston Campus — is the newest in a recent surge of construction on both Northwestern campuses.

The pavilion, the result of a partnership between Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and the university, was dedicated to the memory of the Pancoes’ granddaughter, Beth Elise Pancoe, who was a student at NU when she died in 1999 from acute myelogenous leukemia.

“My wife, Hap, and I could not have hoped for a more fitting memorial to our beloved granddaughter, Beth, than having this building dedicated to her,” Arthur Pancoe said. “It is our sincere hope that the work done by the talented scientists who will occupy this building will serve to advance science, so that one day people like Beth can live full and happy lives.”

The Pancoe building, which opened to researchers mid-summer, provides lab space for 24 to 32 investigators and research groups. The four-story building’s design fosters interaction and collaboration among scientific disciplines and allows easy access to Cook and Hogan halls through enclosed bridges.

NU researchers in the Pancoe building primarily explore biological sciences, while Evanston Northwestern Healthcare physician-scientists focus on common incurable diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

“This new building exemplifies the cooperative partnerships Northwestern University is creating with Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and other institutions to produce advances in the life sciences and biomedicine,” University President Henry Bienen said. “Northwestern is at the forefront in a number of areas of biomedical research, and this new facility will enable us to continue this important work.”

Mark R. Neaman, president of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, said the Pancoe building brings research “from the bench to the bedside.” He called the building “our dream of being able to translate science into care.”

Catherine Woolley, a neurobiology and physiology professor with a laboratory in the new facility, said the building’s design is its greatest asset.

“It creates a very positive atmosphere for research and much more opportunities for collaboration and cooperation,” Woolley said. “That applies not only for research but probably most importantly for the students.”

Woolley said the building — which houses an Einstein Bros. Bagels, a lunchroom and many gathering spaces — also provides valuable opportunities for informal interaction.

“Some of the best ideas come from what start out as casual conversation,” she said.