Sacramento High School science students joined university officials in January to dedicate the Oak Park Research Building, the newest research facility serving the UC Davis Health System.

The $20 million, 40,000-square-foot glass, brick and stucco building is headquarters for the National Science Foundation-funded UC Davis Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology, where scientists are harnessing light to better detect and treat cancer and other diseases. The building also houses the laboratories of Kit Lam, professor and chief of hematology and oncology at UC Davis Cancer Center, and Andrew Vaughan, a radiobiologist in the UC Davis Department of Radiation Oncology.

"The discoveries and technologies developed in this state-of-the-art facility will revolutionize biology and medicine," said keynote speaker Nathaniel G. Pitts, director of integrative activities for the National Science Foundation. High school students from throughout the Sacramento region will learn about cutting-edge science through the biophotonics center's education program, which seeks to foster a new generation of science leaders.