One of the true success stories for the College of Medicine has been its nearly 10-year partnership with Children’s Hospital & Medical Center (CHMC).
The recent creation of the Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) is a perfect example of how this partnership has flourished. The CHRI will take pediatric-related research to a whole new level at UNMC and Children’s.
As in any strong partnership, both sides bring something to the table. Children’s is infusing millions of dollars into new research, as well as the clinical infrastructure needed to carry out cutting-edge clinical and translational research. UNMC will provide research infrastructure in the form of labs, core facilities and grants administration, as well as a large cadre of investigators and research programs available to collaborate with CHRI investigators. It’s a win-win situation, which will pay big dividends for the community and the state.
I want to salute Dr. John Sparks, professor and chairman of the UNMC Department of Pediatrics, for being the driving force behind the partnership these past 10 years. I also want to recognize Dr. Richard Azizkhan, CEO and president of Children’s, who came to Omaha two years ago from Cincinnati. Dr. Azizkhan has laid out an aggressive vision for Children’s that builds on the foundation created by his predecessor Gary Perkins. Dr. Azizkhan’s goal is for CHMC – through its partnership with UNMC – to become one of the premier children’s hospital in the country.
Thanks to the partnership, the above goals of UNMC and CHMC are well on their way to being realized. Here are some of the partnership successes that have been achieved over the past decade:
— Clinical research trials have increased from seven in 2007 to 213 in 2016.
— Research funding has increased from $3 million in 2008 to $11 million in 2016.
— The Nebraska Pediatric Clinical Trials Network was formed in 2016. The network enables children across Nebraska and the U.S. to participate in a much wider spectrum of clinical trials.
— We've developed particular expertise in four areas – cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and rare diseases.
— We’ve added numerous fellowships and training programs. We now have 15 fellows in nine programs. In 2007, we had only two fellows.
— Being affiliated with an academic medical center has made it much easier for Children’s to fill its clinical positions, especially in the subspecialties where specialists can benefit from the strong research and education enterprise at UNMC.
— The number of pediatric faculty has more than doubled, going from 90 in 2007 to nearly 200 today.
— We’ve been able to develop strong collaborations with other colleges and campuses. One example of this is the interdisciplinary cancer study looking at the epidemiology of childhood cancer in Nebraska. This study brings together UNMC’s College of Public Health Epidemiology Department and the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Geography Department.
One final thought – the growth of clinical trials can’t be underestimated. Clinical trials determine if a new test or treatment works and is safe, and they also look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for children with chronic illnesses. Clinical trials also make available the newest and potentially best therapies.
The two key architects of the original agreement – Dr. John Gollan, my predecessor as dean of the College of Medicine, and Gary Perkins, the longtime CEO of Children’s – deserve our deepest appreciation. They created a partnership that’s going to benefit the health of children in the state for decades to come. The CHRI would also not have been possible without the support and vision of the CHMC Board, chaired by Mr. Rodrigo Lopez, as well as Chancellor Gold and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
On another note, I wanted to let you know that we are moving right along in our search for a founding chair for our newly created Department of Dermatology. Three candidates have come through for interviews, and we are hopeful to make a selection within the next two-three months and have the individual in place early in the next calendar year. We anticipate the new chair will be hiring 5-7 new faculty members over the next couple years.
In addition, the search has begun for the chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and director of the Truhlsen Eye Institute. If things go according to plan, we hope to have this person in place about one year from now.
Finally, I want to point out a new feature in InterCOM. Each issue, we plan to feature a residency or fellowship program director as well as a resident physician or fellow. The residents/fellows play such an important role in the delivery of health care on our campus. I think it’s great that we acknowledge these outstanding programs. My thanks to Dr. Chandra Are, our designated institutional official (DIO) and associate dean for graduate medical education, for making this happen.