The Dean's Letter A monthly communication to faculty, students, and staff of the School of Medicne
		February/March 2006
		Health care paradigm shift A campus plan for the 21st century Emory, Georgia Tech share major nanotechnology grant   Full speed ahead		New assistant dean Winship leader National recognition In memoriam
		Health care paradigm shift Just imagine, sometime in the next decade, doctors will have the ability to analyze biomarkers in a newborn’s blood sample and not only provide his parents with his health status but also predict his risk of disease during his lifetime. Medical providers will be changing their focus from largely treating disease to understanding how an individual’s genes—interacting with behaviors and environmental factors—define health and predict risk. We will better understand the nature of health and how to intervene at the first signs that a person is at risk for disease. New advances in genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics have the potential to make our future health care system more affordable, accessible, efficient, and effective.      Researchers and physicians from Emory, Georgia Tech, the CDC, Duke University, the Mayo Clinic, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the NIH, and New York University discussed the challenges and promises of the future of health care in a recent symposium sponsored by the Emory-Georgia Tech Predictive Health Initiative. An ongoing theme was understanding, managing, and integrating the many different systems involved in health maintenance, from systems biology to social systems, health information systems, and total health care systems. “The way we collect, store, protect, retrieve, and interpret information will be at the heart of predictive health,” says Dr. Ken Brigham, Professor of Medicine and one of the initiative’s leaders. “We will have the information to define health in new ways that will create the opportunity to focus an individual’s care on health rather than disease. We will have to decide whether to change health care from reactive to proactive.”      Should biomedical researchers focus on identifying generic markers of disease or markers that are specific to a single disease or organ? Should the focus be on the health of populations or the health of individuals? These and many other critical issues will be discussed and debated as the Predictive Health Initiative takes shape in the coming months, within the context of the University’s strategic plan. TOP A campus plan for the 21st century In the coming decade, the Woodruff Health Sciences Center and the School of Medicine will need new facilities designed to deliver medical care in bold new ways, expand frontiers of collaborative research, and encourage new ways of learning. This vision is reflected in the University’s strategic plan and its accompanying Campus Master Plan Update 2005, which includes the Medical Education Building, now under construction and slated to open in 2007.      Another key component of the Campus Master Plan is the Clifton Road Redevelopment Project, which outlines the need for a new hospital. This project involves relocating and growing all health care delivery systems on the east side of Clifton Road. Emory Hospital, the Clinic, and some related research components would be relocated and consolidated into one well-organized facility on the site of the present clinic buildings. The concept is an integrated research, teaching, and patient care facility organized around Centers of Excellence, with associated research functions co-located around a state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment chassis, topped with a 700-bed hospital. The proposed concept will gradually be phased in, first relocating Clinic operations with associated research components and Centers of Excellence. Next, construction on the diagnosis and treatment areas as well as the hospital will begin. This complex design must accommodate potential growth, including new centers and hospital beds. Additional studies conducted this year will examine program feasibility, site constraints, transportation, circulation, parking and service delivery components, and funding. TOP Emory, Georgia Tech share major nanotechnology grant The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently selected Emory and Georgia Tech as one of seven National Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) and has awarded the institutions $3.66 million for the first year and up to a total of $19 to 20 million over a five-year period. The new Nanotechnology Center for Personalized and Predictive Oncology, housed on both campuses, is one of the largest federally funded programs in the country for biomedical nanotechnology; biomolecular and cellular engineering; cancer bioinformatics and biocomputing; translational cancer research, education, and training; intellectual property creation; and nanomedicine commercialization and economic development. It will function as a “discovery accelerator” to integrate nanotechnology into personalized cancer treatments and early detection. “This grant demonstrates the high level of confidence the NCI has in Emory, Georgia Tech, and in Georgia,” says Gov. Sonny Perdue. “The progress we have made would not have been possible without collaboration among these universities and agencies such as the Georgia Cancer Coalition and the Georgia Research Alliance.”      The CCNE’s Director and Principal Investigator is Dr. Shuming Nie, the Wallace Coulter Distinguished Chair and Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Co-Principal Investigator is Dr. Jonathan Simons, Director of the Winship Cancer Institute, Professor of Hematology and Oncology, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering. TOP Full speed ahead What lies ahead for the SOM and Emory? The answer may be found in the University’s strategic plan, which provides a blueprint for strengthening Emory’s schools and units during the next 10 years based on five themes: strengthening faculty distinction, preparing the engaged scholar, creating community-engaging society, confronting the human condition and the human experience, and exploring new frontiers in science and technology.      The SOM has developed our own piece of the plan. One key to our success is retaining talented faculty and continuing to recruit world-class clinicians and scientists who will propel us into the top tier of medical schools. Toward that end, we have created a new and innovative medical education curriculum that will better incorporate the latest advances in science and patient care, and we are constructing a medical education building that will support the new curriculum. Both are vital to preparing knowledgeable and compassionate physicians to practice 21st century medicine.      We also plan to grow our research portfolio even more. During the past eight years, we have achieved one of the fastest compound growth rates (15.5%) among the nation’s top 25 medical schools. Our new strategic research plan will build on successes in neuroscience, genetics, cancer biology, immunology/vaccines, transplantation, and cardiovascular and infectious disease. It also identifies new areas of growth, including nanotechnology, systems biology, health services research, and predictive and global health (i.e., the Predictive Health Initiative, featured above).      As for our clinical enterprise, we will work closely with Emory Healthcare and our hospital affiliates to improve outcomes for patients. Whether this involves using translational research to provide the most advanced and innovative therapies, developing patient-centered educational programs to promote healthy lifestyles, or defining and developing the field of predictive health, we will continue to provide the most advanced and compassionate patient care possible. TOP New assistant dean A warm welcome to Joshua Barwick, who recently assumed the position of Assistant Dean for Administration (he joins Brenda Seiton, also Assistant Dean for Administration). Mr. Barwick will focus on a wide variety of projects, including policy matters, problem resolution, contract reviews, information technology strategic planning, program development, and career development for administrators.      “I’m very excited to work on projects that will make a real contribution to the smooth operation of the SOM, such as strengthening our database and reporting capabilities and developing an electronic document filing and retrieval system for the Dean’s Office,” he reports.      Mr. Barwick comes to Emory from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, where he served as Associate Counsel. He has extensive experience in corporate and health care law and in academic health care and business issues. Welcome Josh! TOP Winship leader Winship leader Dr. Dong Shin (Hematology/Oncology and Otolaryngology) is now Associate Director of Academic Develop-ment for the Winship Cancer Institute. In this new position, Dr. Shin will develop and implement a formal system of mentorship and career development for faculty in the Department of Hematology/Oncology.      “The purpose of this initiative is to define and promote academic career development for all of our faculty members,” says Dr. Shin, who joined Winship in 2003. “We will encourage and guide pursuit of career development grants from the NIH, hold an annual workshop for trainees and faculty members, and establish an advisory board comprised of senior faculty. A formal career development program will help build a strong foundation for faculty who are dedicated to making a difference in cancer research and patient care.” TOP National recognition The Epilepsy Foundation’s professional advisory board elected Dr. Page Pennell (Neurology) to its national advisory group. An expert on women’s issues in epilepsy and other neurological disorders, Dr. Pennell will help advise the national organization on a broad range of advocacy issues, educational programs, and special projects. The board also provides professional peer review of applications for the foundation’s annual research grant and fellowship program. TOP In memoriam Retired medical technician Mary Louise “Bitsy” Law McPherson, 82, died of complications from a fall in January. She worked with researchers Drs. Morton Waitzman and Sid Lerman for 39 years in one of the Department of Ophthalmology’s former research labs, known as the Stone House. Thomas J. Lawley, MD Dean, Emory School of Medicine
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