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Feature:
The Osteopathic
Physician-Scientists of Tomorrow
Setting a
course to transform research and
research education
By emphasizing research from its
earliest days, the Ohio University
Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
has proven that dedication to
primary care and a serious research
agenda are not only compatible, they’re
synergistic.
Primary care is the starting point for
most patients experiencing a
non-traumatic health issue. It is at the
primary care physician’s office
they receive care year after year, where
they return after a surgery or
a specialist’s diagnosis. The insight
gained through this relationship
and the intimate knowledge of the
day-to-day struggles that patients
face has long been the catalyst for the
college’s research efforts into
solutions to diagnose, to cure and to
treat.
OU-HCOM faculty, staff, students and
stakeholders asked the
following question during strategic
planning activities: If we make the
right changes in our research programs,
can we transform ourselves
into one of the nation’s leading medical
research institutions? The
answer was yes, in focused areas.
“To have an impact we need people
working together, a core
research infrastructure in place where
we can break down walls and
have people collaborating and sharing
their expertise,” said Audrone
Biknevicius, Ph.D., associate professor
of anatomy and chair of the
Department of Biomedical Sciences.
Assessments revealed a surprising depth
to OU-HCOM research
assets, but also revealed that further
development was needed in strategic
areas across the institution. The plan
focused on developing four areas:
diabetes, musculoskeletal and
neurological disorders, student
engagement
and community-based research. Clear
directives informed the plans:
engage and create opportunities for
students, stimulate collaborative
faculty relationships, and build a world
class research institution.
With a well crafted blueprint and nearly
half of the 2011
Osteopathic Heritage Foundation’s $105
million gift earmarked for
research efforts in those selected
areas, the college has embarked on a
15-year journey to transform research
and research education.
“This gift is allowing the college to
further develop its programs that
focus on relieving the most pervasive
aspects of human suffering,” said
Kenneth Johnson, D.O., dean.
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