Indiana University School of Medicine Receives $60M Gift
Lilly Endowment, an Indianapolis private philanthropic foundation, announced that it will give a $60 million gift to the Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine to be disbursed over a period of 6 years. The gift will establish the Indiana Physician Scientist Initiative, an effort to stimulate and streamline the process of translating laboratory research into viable treatment options, and will benefit the university's recruitment of top scientists and researchers.
According to IU, the Lilly Endowment gift will be used to assist in recruitment of physician-scientists and to bolster the school's Medical Scientist Training Program, as well as to invest in the Indiana Biobank for storage of and access to patient biological samples. Funds are also slated to support IU's international clinical efforts and the school's Translational Research Acceleration Collaboration (ITRAC).
NIA Awards $2M to Weill Cornell
The National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded a $2 million, five-year, grant to Weill Cornell Medical College to fund an Edward R. Roybal Center for Research on Applied Gerontology. The grant will establish the Cornell-Columbia Translational Research Institute on Pain in Later Life (TRIPLL). TRIPLL, a multi-institutional and interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at improving pain management in older adults, will serve New York metro-area senior citizens in a variety of settings including hospitals, managed care centers and home health aides.
TRIPLL will be an expansion of the existing Roybal Center in Ithaca, the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging (CITRA), and, along with Weill Cornell's Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, will serve as the program's hub. Cornell University College of Human Ecology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Hospital for Special Surgery, and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York comprise the other principal members.
Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Receives Gift
The Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis received a commitment from Harvey and Linda Saligman to establish the Harvey and Linda Saligman Multiple Myeloma Research Fund. The fund will support investigation of causes for the disease as well as new treatments.
Mr. Saligman, a St. Louis-area private investor, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma a few years ago, was compelled to make this gift in response to the treatment he has received at the Washington University School of Medicine affiliate Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Mr. Saligman and his wife have previously supported the University through undergraduate scholarships and the development of the Saligman Family Atrium at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum on the Danforth Campus. Additionally, the Saligmans established the Crag K. Reiss, MD, Award for Excellence in Teaching at the School of Medicine.
Mr. Saligman has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Washington University since 1985.
Washington University is 1 of 13 academic centers in the nation comprising the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC). As such, patients being treated there may benefit from access to novel medications not otherwise accessible.
HHMI Med into Grad Grantees Announced
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is awarding a total of $16 million through its Med into Grad Initiative. The program was established to promote the integration of medical knowledge and clinical practice in the biomedical PhD curricula of graduate schools. Recipient schools will each receive up to $700,000 over 4 years for the development of a program that incorporates clinical medicine into the graduate school curriculum.
The Med into Grad initiative, which was established in 2005, is a part of HHMI's long-term effort to increase the number of researchers who are prepared and capable to translate research into treatment for patients. Any university in the United States that offers PhD training in a biomedical science was eligible to apply for a Med into Grad grant. 23 grantees were selected as 2010 recipients. They were chosen from 104 applications, submitted by 92 institutions, by a distinguished panel of physician-scientists, graduate educators, and biomedical researchers. The 2010 grantees are:
Baylor College of Medicine
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine/Case Western Reserve University
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Cornell University
Emory University
Harvard Medical School
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
The Ohio State University
Rice University
Tufts University School of Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of California, Davis
University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco
University of Chicago
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania
University of Rochester
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
The University of Utah
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Yale University
American Cancer Society Announces Distinguished Service Award
The American Cancer Society named Paul F. Engstrom, MD, senior vice president of extramural research programs at Philadelphia's Fox Chase Cancer Center and medical director of Fox Chase Cancer Center Partners, as the recipient of the society's Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Engstrom, who also serves as the director of the Fox Chase Early Detection Research Network Clinical Epidemiology and Validation Center Program, was honored late last year at the annual meeting of the American Cancer Society in Los Angeles, CA.
Dr. Engstrom earned his medical degree at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He completed an internship and medical residency at the University of Minneapolis Hospitals. He is known for his expertise in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. He serves as chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Colorectal-Anal Cancer Guidelines Panel, and is a member of the NCCN Neuroendocrine Malignancy Panel and Senior Adult Oncology Task Force.
NIH Awards $8.5M to CTSA Institutions for Research on Pharmaceuticals for Children
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced 18 grants to support the study of outcome measures of pharmaceutical research efforts in pediatric populations, with the goal of increasing the likelihood of success for future trials of pediatric treatments. The grants were awarded to 17 Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institutions for studies that will focus on pediatric cardiology, neonatology and pediatric neurology.
Funding for the awards was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and awards will be administered by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). The NICHD and the NCRR are a part of the NIH. The grantees are:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, Pediatric Hypertension Outcome Measures, Principal Investigator - Harry Shamoon, MD
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, Effect of BMI on Exposure-Response Relationships to Lisinopril in Children, Principal Investigator - Pamela B. Davis, MD, PhD
Methodological Improvement in Measuring Efficacy Outcomes in Antihypertensive Trials in Children, Principal Investigator - Pamela B. Davis, MD, PhD
Columbia University, New York, NY, Targets and Barriers for Hydroxyurea Therapy in Sickle Hemoglobinopathies, Principal Investigator - Henry Ginsberg, MD
Duke University, Durham, NC, Development of a Pharmacokinetic Algorithm to Improve Outcomes in Neonates, Principal Investigator - Robert M. Califf, MD
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Clinical and Genetic Predictors of Vincristine-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy, Principal Investigator - Anantha Shekhar, MD, PhD
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, Methadone vs. Morphine PK/PD in infants and young children after cardiac surgery, Principal Investigator - Harry B. Greenberg, MD
Tufts University, Boston, MA, Improving BPD Predictors and Outcomes for Clinical Trials, Principal Investigator - Harry Selker, MD, MSPH
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, Nasal Potential Difference Studies Utilizing CFTR Modulators, Principal Investigator - Lisa M. Guay-Woodford, MD
University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, A Toolbox of Outcome Measures for Targeted Treatment Trials in Children, Principal Investigator - Lars F. Berglund, MD, PhD
University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, Development of a Small Volume Sampling Technique for Fentanyl Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic and Pharmacogenetic Analysis in Preterm and Term Neonates With and Without Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease, Principal Investigator - Ronald J. Sokol, MD
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Research Consortium and Data Standards Repository, Principal Investigator - Kenneth J. Pienta, MD
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, Improving Outcome Measures for Chronic Lung Disease of Prematurity, Principal Investigator - Etta D. Pisano, MD
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Cardiac Outcome Measures for Pediatric Muscular Dystrophy Research, Principal Investigator - Steven Reis, MD
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Advanced MRI to Assess Neonatal Care and Outcome, Principal Investigator - David D. McPherson, MD
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Improving Pediatric Outcomes Through Cost-Effective Management of the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Principal Investigator - Donald McClain, MD, PhD
University of Washington, Seattle, Advancing Patient Reported Outcomes in children with Cystic Fibrosis, Principal Investigator - Mary L. Disis, MD
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, Measuring Sleep in Autism: Use of Wireless, Comfortable, and Home-Based Tools, Principal Investigator - Gordon R. Bernard, MD