== New AAMC Analysis in Brief examines the growth of clinical Ph.D. faculty
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OHRP suspends human subjects research at Hopkins
In response to an on-site evaluation at Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine of the circumstances surrounding the death on June 2 of a
volunteer subject in an asthma study, the Office for Human Research
Protections (OHRP) has suspended all federally supported medical research
projects involving human subjects at nearly every Hopkins-affiliated
institution and temporarily denied the enrollment of new individuals in any
trial. The OHRP notified Hopkins of this action in a lengthy July 19 letter
in which it detailed the results of its site visit and subsequent
evaluation of Hopkins' human research protection measures.
In response, Hopkins released a statement calling the suspension of its
research projects involving human subjects "unwarranted, unnecessary,
paralyzing, and precipitous." The statement continues, "We strongly believe
that this action was taken in utter disregard of patients' health and
potentially of life. Even a temporary interruption in therapeutic clinical
trials, such as those involving cancer patients, could be devastating."
However, Hopkins, noting that it had already addressed criticisms of its
procedures noted in the OHRP letter in a letter it delivered to the agency
last December, goes on to affirm its commitment "to working with the OHRP
in constructive ways."
Information: Joann Rodgers, Johns Hopkins Medical Institution,
410.955.6680, jrodgers@jhmi.edu.
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New AAMC Analysis in Brief examines the growth of clinical Ph.D. faculty
The latest edition of Analysis in Brief, a fact sheet published six times a
year to keep AAMC members apprised of the latest findings from the
association's myriad data collection and research activities, addresses the
growth and evolving role in research of Ph.D. faculty in U.S. medical
schools' clinical departments. Among the findings reported are that the
number of Ph.D. clinical faculty more than doubled in the past two decades
and that clinical Ph.D. faculty members now outnumber their counterparts in
the basic science departments. The Analysis in Brief also examines the
growth of Ph.D. faculty by department type and school research intensity.
"Growth in Ph.D. Faculty in Clinical Departments of U.S. Medical Schools,
1981-1999" is available at http://www.aamc.org/data/aib/start.htm.
Information: Di Fang, Division of Biomedical and Health Sciences Research,
202.828.0581, dfang@aamc.org.
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NIH stem cell report released
Responding to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson's request to prepare a summary
report on the state of scientific knowledge of stem cells, the NIH has
released "Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions."
The result of a thorough review of the extant literature, including more
than 1,200 scientific publications, in-depth interviews with both domestic
and international scientific experts from all areas of relevant biomedical
research in stem cells, and extensive discussions with scientists in the
private pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, the report addresses the
scientific potential of stem cells from adult, fetal tissue, and embryonic
sources to treat specific diseases. The report is available on the Web at
http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/scireport.htm.
Information: Marc Stern, NIH, 301.496.2535.
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HHS announces micro-grants to support Healthy People 2010
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has announced that HHS plans to award hundreds
of "micro-grants" to community organizations for activities that support
the goals of Healthy People 2010, the nation's public health agenda for the
next decade. Worth up to $2,010 each, the micro-grants represent a new
approach to fostering effective prevention efforts at the community
level. Each grant will support efforts bylocal groups to promote health
education, quality care, access to care, and other projects that support
the national health goals of Healthy People 2010.
HHS will commit between $500,000 and $700,000 to a pilot project this year
to study the effectiveness of the micro-grant approach. The money will be
distributed to local, non-profit organizations - and coalitions of such
groups - in different geographic areas to support programs designed to
increase individuals' quality of life and to eliminate health disparities.
More information about Healthy People 2010 and a copy of a Federal Register
notice explaining the application process is available at
http://www.health.gov/healthypeople.
Information: HHS Press Office, 202.690.6343.
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NIH establishes regional resource center for mice
The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the NIH has announced
the official opening of a Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Centers (MMRRCs)
network. The network will function as a one-stop shop for the U.S.
biomedical research community to donate and acquire mutant mouse models.
The MMRRC network is now accepting genetic mouse strains to its collection
and invites investigators who have created such models to donate them to
the network for broad dissemination upon request by other investigators who
will use them in researching human health, disease, and treatments.
The MMRRC network currently includes four repository-distribution
facilities located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the
University of California at Davis, Taconic Farms in New York, and Harlan
Sprague Dawley Inc., in collaboration with the University of Missouri. The
MMRRC network is electronically linked through an NCRR-sponsored MMRRC
Informatics Coordinating Center (ICC), which is located at the Jackson
Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Information: Visit http://www.mmrrc.org, or contact Kathy Kaplan, NCRR
Information Office, 301.435.0888, kaplank@ncrr.nih.gov.
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center opens new emergency department
The new Berenson Emergency Department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center, which combines advanced medical, diagnostic, and communications
technologies with a patient-centered design, officially opened July 17.
Architects of the new $13 million emergency department worked in close
collaboration with a team of Beth Israel Deaconess doctors, nurses, and
other clinicians to design a facility that addresses both patient comfort
and the unique challenges of emergency room medicine. A level-one trauma
center, the 23,000 square foot emergency department has 46 beds and is
5,000 square feet larger than the medical center's former emergency department.
Information: Bill Schaller, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,
617.632.8062, bill_schaller@caregroup.harvard.edu.
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Public-private partnership launches osteoarthritis initiative
A new public-private partnership called the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI)
has been established to bring together new resources and commitment to help
find biological markers for the progression of osteoarthritis. Over the
next five to seven years, the OAI will collect information and define
disease standards on 5,000 people at high risk of having osteoarthritis and
of progressing to severe osteoarthritis during the course of the study.
The OAI consortium includes public funding from the NIH, including the
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
(NIAMS) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and private funding from
pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis
Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and Pfizer. The OAI will provide approximately
$8 million annually for as many as six clinical research centers to
establish and maintain a natural history database for osteoarthritis that
will include clinical evaluation data, radiological images, and a
biospecimen repository.
Information: Visit the OAI Web site at
http://www.nih.gov/niams/news/oisg/index.htm, or contact the NIAMS Press
Office at 301.496.8190 or the NIA Press Office at 301.496.1752.
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Hot headlines
Embryo Cells' Promise Cited in NIH Study: Call for More Research Toughens
Bush Choice
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10256-2001Jul17.html,
Washington Post, 7/18/01
Senator-Physician Backs Stem Cell Study: Frist Favors Funding Research on
Embryos http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.stem19jul19.story, Baltimore Sun, 7/19/01
Hopkins Told to Halt Trials Funded by U.S.: Death of Medical Volunteer
Prompted Federal Directive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23208-2001Jul19.html,
Washington Post, 7/20/01
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On the move
Michael E. Bernardino, M.D., vice president for health affairs at the State
University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical
Sciences, has been appointed dean of the same institution. He will retain
both appointments.
Edmund C. Tramont, M.D., co-director of the Vaccine Division of the
Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland and professor at
the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, has been appointed
director of the Division of AIDS, part of the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases.
Maria L. Soto-Greene, M.D., has been appointed senior associate dean for
education at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. Dr. Soto-Greene, an associate
professor of clinical medicine and director of the New Jersey Medical
School's Hispanic Center of Excellence, was formerly associate dean for
special programs.
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