Over the past 15 months as I have acclimated to my role of the Executive Dean for the KU School of Medicine, it has become increasingly evident that our most significant resources are people ― not only our students, faculty, staff and administrators, but also our clinical, research, education and community partners throughout the state of Kansas.

COVID-19 has presented a myriad of obstacles to our school in 2020, but it has also presented us with an opportunity to demonstrate innovation, flexibility, resilience and compassion as we mobilize to meet those challenges.

KU School of Medicine’s priority is to safely continue meeting our missions without interruption. Our MD program students remain on track to progress through the curriculum and graduate on schedule, sustaining the physician workforce pipeline in Kansas. Student educational experiences and performance on assessments have been closely managed by our Education Council, the faculty governance committee responsible for the MD curriculum, to ensure that students are meeting all our graduation competencies.

Our scientists have remained steadfast in their efforts to fulfill our research mission. Over the last three years, National Institutes of Health-funded research at the KU School of Medicine has steadily risen. In 2020 alone, our funding increased by 19%. Our dedicated researchers are actively taking on the challenge of understanding COVID-19 and identifying therapies and other strategies to mitigate the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. As of early September 2020, approximately 40 research project applications, totaling over $10 million, have been submitted by our faculty to address the pandemic.

I am grateful for the tremendous efforts put forth by everyone in the KU School of Medicine community, and I remain committed to working collaboratively to advance the school to meet the needs of the people of Kansas and beyond.

Akinlolu Ojo, M.D., Ph.D., MBA
Executive Dean
KU School of Medicine