. "After careful study and collaboration with the Medical College, we determined that new facilities that share resources would best serve the mission of each organization."
The Medical College will provide $77 million of funding support for the project, and Children's Hospital and Health System will provide $40 million. The state of Wisconsin has granted $25 million for the project as an investment in biotechnology in the Milwaukee area.
"This is a great opportunity that will advance medical research and ensure that Wisconsin remains a national leader in biomedical research," said Governor Doyle. "This facility will leverage millions of dollars in additional federal funds which will translate into stronger economic growth for our state."
The Medical College's research space will include expanded laboratory space for its Cancer Center as well as initiatives in structural biology, its Center for Biopreparedness and Infectious Disease, and its Center for Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering.
The new facility also enables the Medical College to address additional research space needs for its Cardiovascular Center, Neuroscience Center and Center for Human and Molecular Genetics.
The specially designed facilities will provide adequate space for existing and expanded research initiatives of both the Medical College and the Children's Research Institute.
Key pediatric research programs on target to move to the institute include: cardiovascular disease (congenital defects, hypertension, bleeding disorders); genetics (obesity, diabetes, gene therapy); immunology (rheumatic disorders, lupus, tumor immunology); and community/public health research (child abuse and injury prevention).
Medical College Research
As Wisconsin's largest private research institution, Medical College of Wisconsin faculty members will conduct approximately $120 million in funded research this year on more than 1,500 research studies. The Medical College is ranked 42nd among the nation's 125 medical schools for research grants and contract funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Over the past 10 years, the Medical College is the nation's fifth fastest-growing medical school for NIH funding support. The Medical College also is home to nine internationally and federally designated centers of biomedical research. Last year, Medical College faculty members filed 20 US patents, disclosed 46 new inventions and discoveries, and licensed two technologies for commercialization products. An additional nine technologies are in negotiations.
Children's Research Institute
From stemming milk-borne illnesses in the early 1900s, to the development of the Milwaukee Brace in the 1950s, to more recent advancements such as bone marrow transplantation techniques and post-operative management of hypoplastic left heart syndrome patients, research at Children's Hospital has been fueled by the desire to do better for the children of Wisconsin. More than 200 physicians and other Medical College faculty currently are involved in pediatric research. That number is expected to grow to 250 in the next few years. The Department of Pediatrics ranks No. 35 of all pediatric departments in the nation for funding from the National Institutes of Health.
"As a nationally recognized pediatric facility, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin always has supported research," said Robert Kliegman, MD, executive vice president of Children's Research Institute. "The creation of the institute will allow us to bring a tremendous amount of pediatric research together-from bench to bedside. We know that children are not just little adults, and their treatment protocols and care are unique, as is the research into childhood diseases."
Dr. Kliegman is Chairman and Professor of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin and holds the Muma Family Chair in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital. He recently recruited a nationally recognized pediatric research leader, Ellis Avner, MD, to serve as director of Children's Research Institute.
Dr. Avner, who was chief medical officer at Cleveland's Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and chairman of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University College of Medicine, is building the pediatric research program at Children's Hospital. He also serves as Associate Dean for Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Children's Hospital and Health System is the region's only independent health care system dedicated solely to the health and well-being of children. Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, rated the number three pediatric hospital in the nation by Child magazine, is the flagship member.
Entities include Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin-Fox Valley, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin-Kenosha, Children's Hospital and Health System Foundation, Children's Health Education Center, Children's Medical Group, Children's Service Society of Wisconsin, Children's Specialty Group, Surgicenter of Greater Milwaukee, Seeger Health Resources and National Outcomes Center.
Children's Hospital and Health System serves children throughout Wisconsin, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, northern Illinois and beyond, through medical care, advocacy, education and pediatric medical research.
This article previously appeared in Medical College of Wisconsin World.
Article Created: 2005-03-29
Article Updated: 2005-03-29
MCW Health News presents up-to-date information on patient care and medical research by the physicians of the Medical College of Wisconsin.
