Introduction:
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is undergoing
a process to gain input from stakeholders and to identify
opportunities to build strength and national competitiveness
in areas that will improve human health and society. Vice
Chancellor Charles Zukoski formed a steering committee comprised
of leading faculty members and administrators. He has asked
that the committee develop a process to gain a broad campus
perspective of issues and potential in biomedical translational
research and scholarly work.
Over the last two months, the committee has met with groups
of faculty to ascertain their ideas, needs and approaches
for translating their basic discoveries into the clinical
world. In the next phase of information gathering, UIUC
will hold a series of open discussions February 7-11, 2005,
to promote dialogue among interested faculty members. These
discussions will lead the committee to understand overlapping
needs and specific opportunities within each focus group.
These initial discussions will focus on biological research
areas that lack a readily identifiable path toward application
to human health. The discussions are open to all interested
faculty members and administrators. The topics include;
Therapeutic Agents & Delivery Systems, Host-Microbe
Interactions, Bio Imaging, Stem Cell Biology, Applied Social
Sciences, Devices & Sensing, Medical Informatics, and
New Directions.
From this information, the committee will identify three
to four themes to be discussed at a one-day campus forum.
We will invite a nationally recognized speaker with expertise
in translational medicine to frame the debate. UIUC plans
to hold this discussion in early April. The results of the
forum will be summarized in a report to be delivered to
the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Research. This report
will help identify key needs and opportunities and will
guide strategic investment in this area.
>>
Translational Research Forum Presentation (PPT)>>
>>
Download Translational Research Forum Poster (PDF)>>
>> Translational BioMedical Research Workshop
Discussion Summary (MS
Word / PDF)
>>
January 13, 2005
Jennifer Eardley
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research
