The last decade was an outstanding one for the University of Kansas Medical Center, as we saw unprecedented growth in the span and quality of our education, research and clinical programs. I am pleased to report that as we have moved into the second decade of this century, our momentum has not slowed down. 

The annual rankings from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on medical schools were recently released, and the KU School of Medicine continued its steady climb. The NIH rankings are based upon the total amount of research grant money allocated to individual medical schools They are valued by research institutions because they indicate the high quality of school researchers, whose initiatives must be approved by a peer-review panel of experts before NIH funding is awarded.

As an institution, the School of Medicine ranked 60th among all medical schools in the country. That compares to 64th in 2009 and 75th just five years ago.  Among public medical schools, we ranked 32nd in 2010, which compares to 35th last year and 47th five years ago.

When you take a closer look at how many of our individual departments fared, you see how our reputation as a first-class research institution has grown. Among public medical schools, we had three departments that ranked in the top 10 last year: anatomy and cell biology ranked 5th; preventive medicine came in at 7th; and family medicine was 8th. Our family medicine department also ranked 12th among all medical schools, up 16 spots from last year’s rankings.

The performance of several other School of Medicine departments in this year's rankings merit mention as well. Among all public medical schools in the country, pharmacology came in 11th in the 2010 rankings; physiology placed 15th; orthopedics ranked 18th; and otolaryngology was 20th.

I believe that our improved national standing reflects the talent of our faculty, both our established researchers and the exciting new investigators we have attracted over the past several years. Of course, the NIH rankings are just one measure of our increasing stature. In the past year, we have seen national rankings that point toward our excellence as an educational, clinical and research institution. I am confident our progress toward becoming one of the premier academic medical centers in the country will continue in the years ahead.

Troy Johnson, a PhD student in biochemistry and molecular biology, was one of the KUMC doctoral candidates who presented their original research to legislators at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit in Topeka on Feb. 17. At the event, Johnson explained his research on PEPCK, an enzyme which is involved indirectly in Type II diabetes, to Kansas Board of Regents president Andy Tompkins. In the background is Ashlee Martz, a doctoral candidate in audiology, whose presentation won an award.

Kudos

The American Rehabilitation Counseling Association (ARCA) Research and Knowledge Council awarded first place to a research paper co-authored by Michael Fox, PhD, a professor of health policy and management. Dr. Fox studied the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the psychosocial health of people with disabilities.

Neena Sharma, PT, PhD, CMPT, a research assistant professor and associate director of clinical education in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, has received a $40,000 research grant from the Foundation for Physical Therapy. The foundation awards research grants annually to support outstanding physical therapist researchers whose work will contribute to the growth of evidence-based practice.

The staff at the Dykes Library continues to work hard on updating faculty profiles for our Meet Our Experts website. Since work began on the site, more than 800 faculty profiles have been added. Work has begun on adding profiles for the School of Medicine–Wichita faculty, which should be completed by July of this year. More than 8,000 unique visitors have accessed the site since its launch in November.

Last fall, we submitted an application for a Clinical and Translational Science Award to support our Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. This week we learned that our application received a score of 14, which is considered by the NIH to be exceptional. We won't find out until May whether we get the grant, but our thanks to the principal investigators, Rick Barohn, MD, and Lauren Aaronson, PhD, RN, and many others who committed so much time to this project.

In the news

Robyn Honea, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow with the Alzheimer and Memory Program, received national attention this week when her study on a possible maternal link to Alzheimer's was published in the journal Neurology. Dr. Honea's study results were published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and World Report, Time and many other national media outlets. You can read the story that appeared in the New York Times here.

Kansas Public Radio aired a report this week on metastasis – the spread of cancer from the original tumor site to other parts of the body. KPR reporter Bryan Thompson interviewed the KU Cancer Center's new associate director of basic science, Danny Welch, PhD, who is one of the of the nation's leading experts on metastasis. You can hear the entire report here.

Faculty news

Dennis Valenzeno, PhD, is the new associate dean for medical
sciences and chair of the Department of Medical Science at the School of Medicine–Wichita.

Alan S. L. Yu, MD, has been appointed the new division director of nephrology and the director of the Kidney Institute. Dr. Yu will start his new position at the School of Medicine on June 6.

Fred Adler, MD, a clinical professor of orthopedics, passed away this week. During his 53 years at KU Medical Center, Dr. Adler helped thousands of patients, taught countless students and residents, and developed an outstanding reputation as a researcher. He will be missed.