Skip to main content
NIH Intramural Research Program, Our Research Changes Lives

Navigation controls

  • Search
  • Menu

Social follow links

  • Podcast
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Main navigation

  • About Us
    • What Is the IRP?
    • History
    • Honors
      • Nobel Prize
      • Lasker Award
      • Breakthrough Prize
      • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
      • Presidential Medal of Freedom
      • National Medal of Science
      • Searle Scholars
      • The National Academy of Sciences
      • The National Academy of Medicine
      • The National Academy of Engineering
      • The American Academy of Arts and Sciences
      • National Medal of Technology & Innovation
      • Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals
      • Crafoord Prize
      • Fellows of the Royal Society
      • Canada Gairdner Awards
    • Organization & Leadership
    • Our Programs
      • NCI
      • NEI
      • NHGRI
      • NHLBI
      • NIA
      • NIAAA
      • NIAID
      • NIAMS
      • NIBIB
      • NICHD
      • NIDA
      • NIDCD
      • NIDCR
      • NIDDK
      • NIEHS
      • NIMH
      • NIMHD
      • NINDS
      • NINR
      • NLM
      • CC
      • NCATS
      • NCCIH
    • Research Campus Locations
    • Contact Information
  • Our Research
    • Scientific Focus Areas
      • Biomedical Engineering & Biophysics
      • Cancer Biology
      • Cell Biology
      • Chemical Biology
      • Chromosome Biology
      • Clinical Research
      • Computational Biology
      • Developmental Biology
      • Epidemiology
      • Genetics & Genomics
      • Health Disparities
      • Immunology
      • Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
      • Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
      • Molecular Pharmacology
      • Neuroscience
      • RNA Biology
      • Social & Behavioral Sciences
      • Stem Cell Biology
      • Structural Biology
      • Systems Biology
      • Virology
    • Principal Investigators
      • View by Investigator Name
      • View by Scientific Focus Area
    • Accomplishments
      • View All Accomplishments by Date
      • View All Health Topics
      • The Body
      • Health & Wellness
      • Conditions & Diseases
      • Procedures
    • Accelerating Science
      • Investing in Cutting-Edge Animal Models
      • Creating Cell-Based Therapies
      • Advancing Computational and Structural Biology
      • Combating Drug Resistance
      • Developing Novel Imaging Techniques
      • Charting the Pathways of Inflammation
      • Zooming in on the Microbiome
      • Uncovering New Opportunities for Natural Products
      • Stimulating Neuroscience Research
      • Pursuing Precision Medicine
      • Unlocking the Potential of RNA Biology and Therapeutics
      • Producing Novel Vaccines
    • Research in Action
      • View All Stories
      • Too Much of a Good Thing
      • Turning Face Perception on Its Head
      • Safeguarding a Second Chance at Life
      • A Biological Betrayal
    • Trans-IRP Research Resources
      • Supercomputing
    • IRP Review Process
    • Commercializing Inventions
  • NIH Clinical Center
    • Clinical Center Facilities
    • Advancing Translational Science
    • Clinical Trials
      • Get Involved with Clinical Research
      • Physician Resources
  • News & Events
    • In the News
    • I am Intramural Blog
    • Speaking of Science Podcast
    • SciBites Video Shorts
    • The NIH Catalyst Newsletter
    • Events
  • Careers
    • Faculty-Level Scientific Careers
    • Trans-NIH Scientific Recruitments
      • Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigators
        • Science, the Stadtman Way
        • Earl Stadtman Investigator Frequently Asked Questions
      • Lasker Clinical Research Scholars
      • Independent Research Scholar
    • Scientific & Clinical Careers
    • Administrative Careers
  • Research Training
    • Program Information
    • Training Opportunities
    • NIH Work/Life Resources
The NIH Catalyst: A Publication About NIH Intramural Research

National Institutes of Health • Office of the Director | Volume 30 Issue 3 • May–June 2022

From the Annals of NIH History

Biologics Regulation and Research

The People and Work of Buildings 29 and 29A

BY DAVID DERENICK, OD, AND KATIE WATTS

Exterior of brick building

CREDIT: ROB TUCHER

Historic American Buildings Survey photograph taken of Building 29.

Two historic buildings on the NIH Bethesda, Maryland, campus will soon be demolished to make way for new structures that can accommodate modern laboratories. But never fear, the stories of the important research that went on in those buildings will be preserved on a new website hosted by the Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum.

two women sitting in a lab

CREDIT: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY

Margaret Pittman, whose research helped generate the development of vaccines against typhoid, cholera, and pertussis, was chief of the Laboratory of Bacterial Products, on the fourth floor of Building 29. She was the first female to lead a lab at NIH. Shown: Pittman and Sadie L. Carlin reading an agglutination reaction, part of the test for potency of anti-meningitis serum. (Photo taken in 1937)

The Biologics Standards Laboratory Building (Building 29, which opened in 1960) and the Biologics Standards Laboratory Annex (Building 29A, which opened in 1967) are nationally significant to the history of medicine and public health. Within their laboratories, NIH and FDA scientists helped to conquer some of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. In their regulatory role, the two agencies licensed vaccines, antitoxins, blood products, and other biologics to ensure their safety and effectiveness. In 2014, the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research moved from Buildings 29, 29A, and 29B (which opened in 1994) to the FDA White Oak campus in Silver Spring, Maryland. Buildings 29 and 29A have been vacant since then; Building 29B was renovated and is now occupied by NIH intramural researchers from three institutes.

After careful study, NIH determined in 2020 that Building 29 and Building 29A are functionally obsolete and that it would be cost prohibitive to rehabilitate them and impossible to resolve the physical constraints of the buildings. The Section 106 review process of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires federal agencies to identify and assess the effects its actions may have on historic buildings on their property. NIH consulted with the Maryland Historical Trust and local organizations and agreed that before the buildings were demolished, photographic surveys would be completed as well as a public website that showcased the significant science and individuals associated with the two buildings. Some of the most well-known medical and infectious-disease researchers of the 20th century worked in these buildings, as did the key administrators and others who supported their work.

a man and woman standing in a lab

CREDIT: OFFICE OF NIH HISTORY AND STETTEN MUSEUM

John Finlayson researched plasma derivatives most of his career, especially as related to hemophilia. He worked on Factor VIII, an essential blood-clotting protein, sometimes called anti-hemophilic factor (not licensed until 1966). Shown: Finlayson (left) and lab technician Mimi Reyes in 1963 in Building 29, first floor.

Although replacing Buildings 29 and 29A is a high priority for NIH, it may be several years before the buildings are demolished. NIH’s Office of Research Facilities must finish decommissioning the buildings and planning the demolition.

The Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum, the FDA History Office, and a number of others—including architects, photographers, historians, and a website programmer—teamed up to mitigate the loss of the buildings. A website—which features the stories of the people, the labs, and the work conducted in the two buildings between 1960 and 2014—is now live.


David Derenick

KATIE WATTS

David Derenick is an architect in NIH’s Division of Facilities Planning, Office of Research Facilities. He serves as the NIH Federal Preservation Officer and coordinates NIH consultation with State Historic Preservation Officers and other parties. Katie Watts is a principal investigator in history and architecture at Gray and Pape, Inc., a consulting company with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a regional office in Richmond, Virginia, where she resides.

This page was last updated on Tuesday, May 17, 2022

  • Issue Overview
  • Features
    • Demystifying Medicine Explores the Origin of Life
    • First In-Person WALS in Two Years
    • A Glycobiology Pioneer Uncovers the Secrets of Sugar
    • Glycobiology Research at NIH
    • Restoring Body and Mind
    • Unfolding the Mystery of Transformer-like Proteins
    • Why Climate Change Is a Health Threat
    • COVID-19 Timeline at NIH (March-April 2022)
  • Departments
    • From the Deputy Director for Intramural Research
    • News Brief
    • Research Briefs
    • Technology Transfer
    • Colleagues: Recently Tenured
    • The Training Page
    • From the Annals of NIH History
    • Photographic Moment
    • The SIG Beat
    • Announcements
  • Issue Contents
  • Download this issue as a PDF

Catalyst menu

  • Current Issue
  • Previous Issues
  • About The NIH Catalyst
  • Contact The NIH Catalyst
  • Share Your Story
  • NIH Abbreviations

Catalyst links

  • Follow The NIH Catalyst

Subscribe Today!

Subscribe to The NIH Catalyst Newsletter and receive email updates.

Subscribe

Get IRP Updates

Subscribe

  • Email
  • Print
  • Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Main navigation

  • About Us
    • What Is the IRP?
    • History
    • Honors
    • Organization & Leadership
    • Our Programs
    • Research Campus Locations
    • Contact Information
  • Our Research
    • Scientific Focus Areas
    • Principal Investigators
    • Accomplishments
    • Accelerating Science
    • Research in Action
    • Trans-IRP Research Resources
    • IRP Review Process
    • Commercializing Inventions
  • NIH Clinical Center
    • Clinical Center Facilities
    • Advancing Translational Science
    • Clinical Trials
  • News & Events
    • In the News
    • I am Intramural Blog
    • Speaking of Science Podcast
    • SciBites Video Shorts
    • The NIH Catalyst Newsletter
    • Events
  • Careers
    • Faculty-Level Scientific Careers
    • Trans-NIH Scientific Recruitments
    • Scientific & Clinical Careers
    • Administrative Careers
  • Research Training
    • Program Information
    • Training Opportunities
    • NIH Work/Life Resources
  • Department of Health and Human Services
  • National Institutes of Health
  • USA.gov

Footer

  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • IRP Brand Materials
  • HHS Vulnerability Disclosure
  • Web Policies & Notices
  • Site Map
  • Search