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COLUMBIA, Mo. — The �������� System expresses its gratitude to the Missouri General Assembly, which has approved Gov. Mike Kehoe’s request to provide $50 million in funding toward the university’s transformational initiative to build a new, state-of-the-art nuclear research reactor, NextGen MURR.

NextGen MURR will save and extend countless lives around the world by increasing innovation and production of the active ingredients in cancer-fighting medications. The project also will serve as an economic catalyst for Missouri, adding jobs and development that will ensure the state’s status as the nation’s epicenter of nuclear science research and medical isotope production.

“This project will result in the dramatic increase of our university’s impact on our state and our country,” Todd Graves, chair of the UM Board of Curators, said. “We appreciate the support of the governor and legislature for this crucially important work.”

“We are incredibly grateful to Gov. Kehoe and the General Assembly, including House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, Rep. Dirk Deaton, Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, Senate Majority Floor Leader Tony Luetkemeyer, Sen. Lincoln Hough and Sen. Stephen Webber, who represents Boone County, home to the university’s flagship campus,” �������� President Mun Choi said. “NextGen MURR is vital to the future of our state and our nation, ensuring economic growth and securing the domestic supply of medical isotopes that fight cancer and save lives.”

To design the reactor and achieve critical licensing milestones, Mizzou has partnered with a consortium that includes Hyundai Engineering America, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), the Hyundai Engineering Company and MPR Associates. The was approved in April. The project is expected to take eight years to complete.

The university’s existing reactor, known as the or MURR, is the nation’s sole supplier of multiple crucial radioisotopes used to treat more than a dozen types of cancer. Already, more than a half-million people per year are treated with medicines containing an active ingredient produced there.

“The support of our elected officials here in Missouri is essential to the success of our new reactor initiative,” Matt Sanford, executive director of MURR, said. “Missouri is home to the most important university research reactor for fighting cancer, and through this funding and NextGen MURR, we will continue to positively impact lives for generations.”