Dr. Kutty named assistant dean for research and development

Shelby Kutty, M.D., Ph.D., M.H.C.M., professor of pediatrics and internal medicine (cardiology) and vice chair of pediatrics, has been named assistant dean of research and development in the UNMC College of Medicine.

The Kutty file

M.B.B.S. – Calicut University, India
M.D. – Manipal University, India
Ph.D. – University of Nebraska/University of Amsterdam
M.H.C.M. (master’s in healthcare management) – Harvard University
Pediatrics residency – Miami Children’s Hospital (2001-2003)
Pediatric cardiology fellowship – Cleveland Clinic Foundation (2003-2006)
Pediatric cardiology fellowship – Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin (2006-2007)
Instructor, pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin (2006-2008)
Assistant professor, pediatrics, UNMC (2008-2012)
Associate professor, pediatrics, UNMC (2012-2017)
Professor, pediatrics, UNMC (2017)
Also holds appointments in cellular and integrative physiology, internal medicine and radiology
Vice chair, pediatrics (2017)
Director of cardiac imaging (2011-present)
Director of research, pediatric cardiology (2011-present)
Impact in Education Awards – Inspirational Mentor of Educators Award, UNMC (2016)
Distinguished Scientist Award, UNMC (2016)
Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics
Fellow, American Society of Echocardiography
Fellow, American College of Cardiology
Fellow, American Heart Association – Council of Cardiovascular Disease in the Young
Serves on editorial board of six cardiology journals
Published more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and 220 peer-reviewed abstracts
Currently holds three extramural research grants, including one from the National Institutes of Health using microbubbles and ultrasound for treatment of endocarditis
Has two extramural grants pending
Has delivered talks nationally and internationally at more than 50 scientific conferences
Wife, Shaija, of 19 years is a UNMC physician; they have one daughter, Ameya, and two sons, Aaron and Ayan.
Research profile

The appointment was announced by Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine, and Howard Fox, M.D., Ph.D., senior associate dean of research and development for the College of Medicine.

“This is all about growing our clinical research enterprise,” said Dr. Fox, who is professor and executive vice chair of the UNMC Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience. “Dr. Kutty is an outstanding investigator and is very committed to building our research program. He will primarily be responsible for helping foster research in those clinical departments and divisions with emerging research programs, and those programs moving into new scholarly directions.”

A pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Kutty will work with Dr. Fox on developing strategies for accomplishing this goal. They hope to:

leverage new funds in the research budget set aside for pilot funds to support innovative projects;
utilize research design and statistical support from the College of Public Health to further build rigor and reproducibility in research;
hold a research retreat at the Truhlsen Events Center to help build research contacts and collaborations in the College of Medicine; and
develop research and mentoring opportunities for medical students, residents and fellows.

Integral to this growth will be working closely with the clinical as well as the basic research department chairs to not only build clinical research but also strengthen the collaborations between departments for interdisciplinary and translational work.

As UNMC was recently awarded a large NIH grant for the Great Plains IDeA-Clinical Translational Research Network, the opportunity is ripe for this expansion.

Dr. Fox said the retreat would be developed by a small group from the Research and Development Committee and other researchers. He envisions it taking place over just a few hours on an afternoon or an evening.

When a date and format for the retreat are determined, Dr. Fox said all investigators on campus will be notified. Complete details also will be available in UNMC Today.

“We are confident that we can make an impact on our research and academic enterprise,” Dr. Kutty said. “We just need to make a commitment to get the job done. I want to encourage all our researchers to get behind this initiative and turn out for the retreat. It will be well worth their time.”

Clinical and translational research has been an area of accelerated growth here on campus. Both NIH as well as industry-funded work has continued to grow in the College of Medicine. With his new appointment, Dr. Kutty will accelerate this growth and help provide clinical scientists with the resources and links to campus expertise to build sustainable research teams.

Dr. Britigan is highly supportive of this initiative. “We have great talent here and continue to recruit outstanding new faculty,” he said. “Having Dr. Kutty work with Dr. Fox and the Research and Development Committee will enable us to better support the academic mission of the college.”