FEATURE
Texans win : Baylor College of Medicine and Baylor Scott & White Health collaborate on biomedical research
Baylor College of Medicine and Baylor Scott & White Health have entered into an agreement to expand biomedical research in North and Central Texas . Baylor College of Medicine is one of the nation ’ s top health sciences universities and research institutions .
“ With this joint operating agreement , we bring together the strengths of both institutions , which no doubt will result in more research of the highest quality ,” said Paul Klotman , M . D ., president and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine . “ The clear winners are the residents of Texas , who will see an acceleration of efforts to provide new therapies .”
“ This collaboration is a great opportunity to begin the journey of reconnecting Baylor College of Medicine and Baylor Scott & White Health ,” said John McWhorter , COO of Baylor Scott & White Health .
John explained that Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine actually traces its roots back to Dallas . In 1903 , Baylor College of Medicine became affiliated with Baylor University and continued to grow in Dallas until the 1940s . In 1943 , the medical school was enticed to move to Houston to join the nascent Texas Medical Center , where it thrives today as a “ Top 10 ” research center in terms of federal research funding .
“ This collaboration is exciting for many reasons , the most important of which is the positive impact we expect it will have on patient care as we ’ re able to translate findings from the laboratory to the bedside ,” said Joel T . Allison , president and CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health . “ It ’ s gratifying to see two strong Baylor brands coming together to advance biomedical research .”
Baylor Scott & White Research Institute collaborates with the medical industry to develop its technology and intellectual property to bring novel treatments to patients . Baylor Scott & White Research Institute has a more than $ 100 million operating budget , conducting 2,000 research studies in more than 60 medical specialties .
“ We ’ re proud of the research we ’ ve done to provide advanced treatment options to our patients , and are thrilled to take those efforts to the next level by collaborating with one of the largest , most respected biomedical research programs in the United States ,” said Michael A . E . Ramsay , M . D ., president of Baylor Scott & White
Research Institute . “ This collaboration raises our profile in the research community and will ultimately mean we ’ re able to positively impact even more lives .”
A search committee is now being established to recruit a chief scientific officer , who will oversee the collaborative effort and serve as a section chief in the Baylor College of Medicine Department of Medicine . The leader will report to Adam Kuspa , M . D ., senior vice president of Baylor College of Medicine , dean of research and dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences , and will work closely with the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute .
The collaboration will be governed by a Research Oversight Council , composed of eight members , equally representing both institutions .
For more information on innovative research initiatives , please contact Sarah Burdi at 214.820.4721 or Sarah . Burdi @ BSWHealth . org .
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