Research in the Emory School of Medicine

David StephensJeff Sands

Trish HaugaardOctober 2006

VA-Research CtrCRCA/MSCR/K30/K12

Yerkes PrimateResearch Ctr.

CDC

Emory UniversityHospital

Crawford LongHospital

GCRC

Wesley Woods

1979: $105M Woodruff gift

1986: 5th strategic plan for research: goal - national prominance

1986: Juha Kokko, Chair Dept. Medicine

1988: Jeff Houpt, Dean

1990-95: 9 new chairs appointed; new space – Rollins Bldg & WRMB wing

Research progress at Emory SOM

1996: Tom Lawley, Dean; Mike Johns, VP WHSC

1997: 6th Strategic plan for research: goal – expand workforce

1996-05: 14 new chairs appointed; >160 new NIH-funded investigators

1996-05: new space: Vaccine Center, Whitehead, WCI, Pediatrics, Yerkes Neuroscience; lose space – A&P building

1999: Biomed. Engineering Department, Don Giddens Chair

2000: EmTec-Bio incubator

2003: 7th strategic plan for research: goal – team science

2005: capital campaign

Growth rate of NIH funding 1996-2005 benchmark Schools

Emory Univ.Vanderbilt Univ.Univ. of PittsburghBaylor CollegeDuke Univ.Univ. of Penn.Washington Univ.Johns Hopkins U.Univ. of NCStanford Univ.UABYale Univ.

55 71 99 89128149162204 10413298

159

190244288257350399378449217264191298

14.8%14.8%12.6%12.5%11.9%11.6%9.8%9.2%

8.6% 8.0%7.7%7.2%

Rank SOM1996 2005

Ave. AnnualCompound

Growth Rate$ millions

1915 9

13 5 2 4 1171118 7

Top-20 ranked SOM departments (2005 NIH Funding)

• Otolaryngology (3)• Emergency Medicine (3)• Surgery (8)• Dermatology (9) • Pathology & Lab Medicine (8)• Neurology (11)• Urology (11) • Physical Medicine &

Rehabilitation (14)• Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

(17)• Neurosurgery (20)

• Biomedical Engineering (1)• Microbiology & Immunology

(7) • Pharmacology (11)

Clinical departments Basic science departments

Selected recent achievements

2005• Top 10 “best work environment for postdocs” – The Scientist• $25M for cancer nanotechnology (S Nie)• $11.5M for cardiovascular nanomedicine (G Bao)• $9M for small molecule discovery (R Dingledine)• $7.4M for Alzheimer’s Center (A. Levey)• $525M received for sale of 3TC (D. Liotta, R. Schinazi)

2004• Chris Larsen “Roche Basic Science Award” by Amer. Soc. Transplantation• $4.9M to develop drugs for depression (C. Nemeroff)

2003• $16M for vaccine research (R Ahmed)• $12M for emerging infections and bio-defense• $10M + $7.6M for prostate metastasis study (L Chung, J Simons)• $7M for alcohol link to acute respiratory distress syndrome (M Moss)

Selected recent achievements

2006• $7.5M to WCI Lung Cancer Research• $10M to Emory’s Transplant Center, Vaccine Center, and

Yerkes for development of new vaccine strategies• 42 SOM investigators now have $1M+ in NIH awards• Vision 2012 – two new research buildings proposed

– 1523 Clifton Road

– As part of the new Medical Research Complex

Strategic Plans for Research

1946 Glenville GiddingsDevelop SOM on Emory

campus, not Grady

1952 Boisfeuillet Jones Establish Emory Clinic

1960 Boisfeuillet Jones Build new space

1967 Art Richardson Improve quality, not quantity

1986 Ken Walker Strive for national prominance

1996Wright Caughman &

Ray Dingledine Expand research workforce

2003Wright Caughman &

Ray DingledineFocus on team science &

translational research

2003 Strategic Plan for Research

Goal• Accelerate our progress towards top-tier status as a

medical research enterprise

Mechanisms• Grow space, infrastructure and investigators• Promote translational & team science

Strategic Plan for Research: 2008 goals

Culture• Improve integration of research and clinical missions

People• Increase the number of NIH funded investigators by ~100

• Attend to retention as well as recruitment

• Increase # grad students from 322 to ~500, MD/PhDs from 8% to 12% of entering class, and postdocs from 420 to 630

Programs• Build new research space (550,000 gsf)

• Build team science research from 18 to 25% of NIH income

• Increase investment in enabling technologies & research cores

Seven Research Areas for Emphasis

1. Cancer

2. Neurosciences

3. Immunity and Host Defense

4. Cardiovascular and Epithelial Biology

5. Regenerative, Transplantation and Reparative Medicine

6. Integrative Medicine and Health Services Research

7. Molecular Structure and Interactions

Plan of Action for NIH RFA for Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA)

The purpose of this initiative is to forge a

uniquely transformative, novel and

integrative academic home for clinical

and translational science.

CTSAIt should:

1. Captivate, advance and nurture a cadre of well-trained multi- and inter-disciplinary

investigators and research teams.

2. Create an incubator for innovative research tools.

3. Synergize multi- and inter-disciplinary clinical and translational research.

CTSA

• U54 Cooperative Agreement Mechanism

• Application Due January 2007

• $6 million/yr. for 5 years total costs

• 8 awards made in 2006

• NIH plans to award up to 60 awards by 2010-2012

Research Resources

• Clinical Trial Office (Peter Block)

• GCRC (Arlene Chapman)

• Research core facilities

• Microchemical and proteomics • BIMCORE• DNA sequencing• Flow cytometry• Microscopy• Animal imaging• Biomedical imaging technology MRI center• PET center• Transgenic mouse• Human tissue procurement & banking• Human embryonic stem cell

Additional SOM CORE FACILITIES

• Animal Imaging• BIMCORE• Biomedical Imaging Technology Center• DNA Sequencing• Flow cytometry• Human Tissue Procurement & Banking• Microchemical & Proteomics• Microscopy• MRI Center• Positron Emission Tomography Center• Transgenic Mouse & Gene-Targeting

NEW CHALLENGES

• NIH FUNDING • Budget growth shrinking• 90% of grant applications not funded• 1% across-the-board cut on all discretionary

spending translating into a $286M reduction in NIH spending

NEW CHALLENGES

• Grants.gov• Electronic Submission system not ready• SR424 very different than PHS398• Change from % effort to # of person months• No internal electronic routing system (yet)• Earlier internal submission deadlines required

GRANT POINTERS

• Submit your grant to multiple funding agencies, such as NIH, VA, AHA, others

• Write your grant at least a month in advance of the deadline• Have people who know the field read it• Have people NOT in the field read it• Do not submit just to submit – it is better to

get it right (or close) than to get triaged