I am pleased to be able to begin a regular newsletter feature that will highlight activities, opportunities and challenges for the research mission of the Department of Medicine. There is a robust diversity of research emphasis and investigators among the various divisions of our department. Future installments of this research column will highlight many of these rich research resources.

In order to develop an effective, actionable plan to move the research mission forward to increase our departmental influence in the institutional mission, Dr. Butler has commissioned the DOM Research Committee to develop a strategic plan to recruit new research-focused faculty, support and develop existing DOM faculty who are either established or have identified potential to become independent investigators and increase extramural funding from a wide variety of sources such as NIH, PCORI, professional organizations such as American Heart Association and pharmaceutical industry-sponsored clinical trials.

There is also a new collaboration with the departmental education leadership to increase scholarly activity among departmental trainees by facilitating and supporting the research interest of house staff and fellows. This will vary in form from those who would like to write scholarly papers with faculty to those who wish to perform meaningful research during their clinical training experience. This will be further described in future iterations of this column.

Finally, it should be emphasized that the members of the Research Committee are both singularly and collectively committed to the research mission of our department and stand ready to answer questions, provide support and expertise for those with research queries, concerns or needs. Special thanks to these members who are currently serving: Ken Butler, PhD (Geriatrics), Trey Clark, MD MPH (Cardiology), Adolfo Correa, MD PhD (Jackson Heart Study), Sarah Glover, DO (GI), Michael Hall, MD (Cardiology), Clark Henegan, MD (HemOnc), Deborah Konkle-Parker, PhD (ID), Craig Long, MD (Cardiology), Leandro Mena, MD MPH (ID), Nita Maihle, PhD (Cancer Institute), Debbie Minor, PharmD (GMed), Tariq Shafi, MBBS (Nephrology), Shou-Ching Tang, MD PhD (HemOnc , Cancer Institute) and Gwen Windham, MD (Geriatrics). Please feel free to reach out to any of us with your comments and/or concerns as we work to improve and increase our departmental research footprint.

Gailen D. Marshall, Jr., MD PhD FACP
Vice Chair for Research