Mission Statement from Goal 2010

(*Adopted by the Faculty in Spring 2000)

1.  STATUS AND CHALLENGES OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is at a high point in its academic stature.  The 5-year strategic plan for years 1995-2000 has been essentially achieved.  Notably,

• Grant support has grown substantially to about 5.0 million dollars annually.  About 3.8 million is in NIH grants which places the department in the top 1/3 of Biochemistry departments at the national level.

• A NIH program project in 1998 and a NIH center grant in 1999 were awarded to faculty – a first in the history of the department.

• Eight faculty serve on Editorial Boards of prestigious scientific journals.  Four currently serve on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

• The medical course is highly regarded by students.  The Department will receive the Outstanding Department Award for 2000 by Student Voice.  The Department has played a key role in developing and promoting small group discussions as a format for medical teaching in the School of Medicine.

• The graduate program has been expanded and currently comprises 15 students.

• Three new faculty have been recruited.  Dr. Hiroaki Serizawa and Dr. Kenneth Peterson work in the area of gene regulation.  Dr. Munirathinam Sundaramoorthy is an x-ray crystallographer.

• Four faculty have received joint appointments in the department.  They are Dr. Jared Grantham, University Distinguished Professor and Professor of Medicine, Dr. Jill Pelling, Professor of Pathology, Dr. Ben Cowley, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Dr. Juan Codina, Research Professor of Medicine.

• The affiliation with UMKC in Structural Biology was brought to fruition with the appointment of Dr. Sundaramoorthy.  The affiliation serves as a cornerstone for inter-institutional collaborations in the Greater Kansas City area.

• Department research space has been renovated and new space acquired.

• Biochemistry Faculty have provided leadership for a) establishing the Biotech Facility, transgenic facility, a research linkage to the Department of Medicine, and a research linkage to UMKC and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, and b) initiating a strategic plan for the School of Medicine as a foundation for the capital campaign.

The Department faces many opportunities and challenges over the next 5-10 years.  The Department was expanded in the mid 1970’s to it present level of 16 tenure track and 6 research track faculty.  The majority of faculty will reach retirement age over the next decade and most have expertise in enzymology and protein chemistry.  Three to four retirements are projected by 2005 and three to four additional retirements by 2010.  Two faculty lines are now open and the chair has expressed his intent to step down as chair by 2001.  The renewal of the department will require a $3-4 million investment and about 3-5 thousand square feet of new space.

The Faculty have conducted a self-analysis and formulated this 10-year strategic plan.  The plan is based on a consideration of the strategic plan of the School of Medicine, VA Medical Center, the Department of Medicine Initiative, the KC-Life Sciences Initiative, the Stowers Institute and the Strategic Plan of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  The Faculty takes pride in the national and local prestige of the Department in teaching, research and service.  They are committed to maintaining the high stature of the Department through a renewal process of recruiting a new chair and several new faculty and the acquisition of new equipment an facilities.

II.  MISSION STATEMENT

The discipline of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology forms a cornerstone for contemporary biomedical sciences.  The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology embraces the missions stated below and the goals derived there from which define the discipline and its role in the biomedical sciences and genetic and molecular medicine.

• Acquire, generate, and transmit new knowledge, at the chemical and molecular level, that leads to an understanding of the mechanisms of normal and pathological life-processes, without which the evolution of molecular medicine cannot proceed.

• Provide expertise and collaborative research opportunities, at the chemical and molecular level, for colleagues in the School of Medicine.

• Provide leadership in the acquisition of new research capacities in proteomics and genomics for the School of Medicine.

• Serve as a focal point for inter-institutional research collaborations in life sciences for the Greater Kansas City Area.

• Participate in the education of health-care professionals and academic and research scientists by supplying high-quality, leading-edge presentations and a learning environment that fosters self-education, problem solving, and an awareness of the roles for physicians and biomedical scientists in society.

• Provide research training in biochemistry and molecular biology for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with emphasis on the fundamentals of chemistry, physics, and biology as well as on the evolving ideas and newer technologies of biomedical research.

• Contribute to the development of our discipline at the university, local, state, national and international level by our activities in teaching and research, thereby enhancing our recognition as a center of excellence.

• Strives as individuals and as a group to preserve the high standards of quality research and ethics that have made biochemistry and molecular biology the fundamental discipline in the biomedical sciences.

III.  RESEARCH GOAL

Continue to be in the TOP ONE-THIRD of medical school biochemistry and molecular biology departments in the country, as measured by research funding, and to maintain excellence in the number and quality of faculty publications, the number of research trainees (graduate and postdoctoral), and the quality of these trainees, as measured by their achievements.

                Initiatives

• Recruit a new chair and 4-5 new faculty by 2005 and 3-4 additional ones by 2010 with expertise in molecular biology, enzymology, protein structure and function, in order to enhance departmental and institutional research programs in cancer, kidney diseases, developmental biology, genetics, and structural biology, and thereby strengthen the research emphasis in genetics and molecular medicine in the School of Medicine.

• Lead the acquisition of state-of-the-art technology in proteomics and genomics, e.g. mass spectrometry, DNA microarray and other analytical instrumentation.

• Continue to develop the department as a resource and strengthen its ties with other basic science departments, clinical departments and regional institutions.

• Continues to play an active role in recruiting new faculty to other departments in the School of Medicine, who will contribute significantly to achievement of the departmental goals and thereby strengthen research and teaching in the School of Medicine.

• Enhance the competitiveness for research grants through improved inter-faculty communication, faculty mentorship, and collaborative research projects, both within the School of Medicine, including the VA Medical Center, and with other regional institutions.

• Strive to improve the infrastructure and research environment within the department and School of Medicine.

IV.  GRADUATE EDUCATION GOAL

To provide graduate students with a well rounded, state-of-the-art education which emphasizes research in biochemistry and molecular biology and thereby produce Ph.D. graduates who are well-trained for academic careers, as well as careers in the biotechnology industry.

Initiatives

• Continue to play a leading role in enhancing the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences (IGPBS).

• Continue to provide excellent instruction.

• Continue to develop advanced courses which reflect the state-of-the-art in the discipline.

• Continue to enhance the education by bringing in distinguished scientists for the seminar program for interactions with the graduate students.

V.  MEDICAL EDUCATION GOAL

To impart to medical students an appreciation of biochemistry and molecular biology, and its relationship to the professional and ethical aspects of medicine and help prepare them for a lifetime of self-directed learning and understanding of the biochemical bases of health and disease.

                Initiatives

• Continue to review and revise the Medical Biochemistry Course and assure that medical students are taught:

a)        those basic principles necessary to appreciate the molecular and biochemical basis of disease and
metabolic dysfunction;

b)        newly emerging knowledge which will bear on their practice of medicine;

c)         the direct and indirect relevancy of biochemistry and molecular biology to clinical problems and patient care using specific examples and employing clinician colleagues;

d)        in a way that develops problem solving skills and self-directed learning.

• Enhance the genetic aspects of the medical curriculum.

• Develop a mechanism to extend biochemical/clinical correlations through the medical curriculum by working with clinical departments and the education council.

• Revise and update cases in our small group manual and work with other basic science and clinical departments to develop common cases for interdisciplinary or integrated discussions.

• Review and revise our evaluation system for medical biochemistry in coordination with other basic science departments to better measure student competency.

• Develop exam questions and formats which reflect current USMLE Step 1 testing procedures.