Dean J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
in
Dear Alumni:
Today‘s academic medical facilities have become burgeoning centers for basic and clinical research while providing state-of-the-art clinical care and medical education. At Northwestern, the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM) has continued to enhance our research programs, while providing the best possible training to the next generation of medical leaders. We have also expanded clinical care with our partners — Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Children’s Memorial Hospital, and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
Feinberg, currently ranked twentieth among American medical research schools by U.S. News & World Report, is represented by more than 3,000 full-time and contributed services faculty members; 1,700 medical students, graduate medical education residents, and fellows; and 750 graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows. Our research spans the spectrum from basic cell biology to clinical outcomes research. The size and scope of activities at Feinberg are expanding, along with many groundbreaking opportunities to positively impact local and global health, such as: the recent campus expansion of the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Building, the Prentice Women’s Hospital, and ongoing construction of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
Recently, some of our accomplishments include:
- Being ranked second in the journal Science as a high-impact research institution in the area of AIDS/HIV research.
- Receiving a prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health.
- Being designated a Nikon Imaging Center (of only seven others in the world).
- Developing innovative new multidisciplinary centers including the Institute for Women’s Health Research, the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity, the Center for Global Health, the Center for Transplantation Medicine, and the Brain Tumor Institute.
- Leading in cancer research—the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of only 41 comprehensive cancer centers in the nation and was also recently awarded a five-year renewal of its Cancer Center Support (Core) Grant by the National Cancer Institute.
In addition to these achievements, Northwestern Memorial Hospital is ranked in ten clinical specialties — six of which make it the highest ranked in Illinois — as part of U.S. News & World Report’s "America’s Best Hospitals" issue (2008), and The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago is ranked first among its peers.
We are also actively involved in the bold strategic planning of One Northwestern — which has been engaging life sciences faculty University-wide, leveraging Northwestern’s assets across schools, and identifying new areas of inquiry at the boundaries of traditional disciplines such as engineering and biology. Our “Great Academic Medical Center (GAMC) Plan” joins us with Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation in a year-long process to identify goals, metrics, and investments that will catapult us to top ten status by 2020.
As we look ahead to future accomplishments, I encourage you to become active in the alumni community through the Northwestern Alumni Association or at Feinberg — whether it be via reunions, volunteerism, mentorship, or financial support. You are a crucial part of our success. As you create alumni-to-alumni or alumni-to-student connections, you strengthen the Northwestern and Feinberg communities and help the next generation of physicians and scientists become future medical leaders.
Sincerely,
J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
Vice President for Medical Affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean,
Feinberg School of Medicine
Read more messages from your NAA and University Leaders.
Posted: Februrary 9, 2009
