KU Med pursues $650M research revamp.(University of Kansas Medical Center hopes to raise $650 million)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

The University of Kansas Medical Center is positioning itself to be something akin to the Johns Hopkins of the Midwest.

As audacious as this might sound, it may be outdone by KU Med Center's present plan to raise $650 million to recruit new scientists, renovate and build laboratories, and purchase high-powered imaging and analytical equipment. The fund raising campaign, already under way; could transform the medical center's reputation and go a long way toward helping Kansas City meet its goal of becoming a center of life sciences research.

"The success of KU in expanding its capabilities is critical to the Kansas City-area life sciences plan," said John Edgar, co-chairman of the Kansas City Life Sciences Institute and lead resident …