NEWS RELEASES
Texas Children's Hospital Celebrates the “Topping Out” of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute

HOUSTON, April 8, 2009 – As part of its Vision 2010 expansion campaign, Texas Children’s Hospital hosted the Tellepsen Builders’ “Topping Out” ceremony for the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI). Friends and colleagues gathered on the 2nd floor of the structure for lunch as they listened to the remarks of Howard Tellepsen, Jr., president and CEO of Tellepsen Builders; Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children’s Hospital; and Dr. Richard Wainerdi, president and CEO of Texas Medical Center.

	Dan and Jan Duncan, Dr. Huda Zoghbi, Howard Tellepsen, Jr., and Mark A. Wallace

In his opening remarks, Mark A. Wallace recognized the remarkable progress of Tellepsen Builders and their crews in the mere 15 months since the institute broken ground in December 2007.

Wallace acknowledged the premiere location of the NRI-near the corner of Moursund and Bertner-as being “the boardwalk of the Medical Center.” He accredited the location to Dr. Richard Wainerdi, who offered to lease the land to the hospital for 199 years at the cost of $1 per year—ultimately gifting the land to Texas Children’s for this innovative research effort. “It is because of Dr. Wainerdi and his vision for the Texas Medical Center that we were able to secure this plot of land on which we are standing today.”

Artist's rendering of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute

In the heart of the Texas Medical Center, the highly coveted space enables the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute to be in close proximity to the many other great institutions of the Texas Medical Center. Under the leadership of Dr. Huda Zoghbi, the NRI will focus on collaborative research, education and the identification of new treatments for pediatric neurological disorders like autism, epilepsy, Rett syndrome, cerebral palsy and learning disorders.

The event concluded with the “topping out” of the institute – a traditional ceremony held when the last beam is placed at the top of the building. Attendees gathered on the lawn as they watched the crane lift a tree to the top of the 13-floor facility. The ceremony is a symbolic step in the progress being made on the structure that will soon lead to the progression of research and treatments for the 50 million children and adults in the United States that suffer from neurological disorders.