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Myles Brand,
President of Indiana University
Two of the most dramatic medical stories in recent months have had an unmistakable Indiana University connection.
First, it was Lance Armstrong, cycling to victory at the Tour de France, less than three years after being successfully treated for testicular cancer by IU doctors.
Then, there was the story of Dr. Jerri Nielsen, a physician who discovered a lump in her breast while on a research mission in Antarctica. Unable to leave the South Pole because of harsh winter weather, she received medical advice through E-mail and videoconferencing from Dr. Kathy Miller, a faculty member at the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis. After being evacuated, Nielsen came to the IU Cancer Center for evaluation and treatment.
Another tangible sign of the groundbreaking work being done at the center is the recent announcement that it has been named as a National Cancer Institute-designated clinical center. As a result, the center will receive a five-year, $6.3 million support grant; it already receives $33 million in annual funding for cancer research projects.
The new grant will help guarantee that advances by IU researchers will be used to help patients as quickly as medically possible.
This good news highlights the vital role that IU's School of Medicine plays in improving health care for Hoosiers and bolstering the economy of our home state.
As Indiana's only medical school, and the second largest one in the nation, educating the next generation of doctors has always been a central aspect of the School of Medicine's mission. But the school's benefits to Indiana go beyond that.
Having a world-class medical research center in Indiana helps assure Hoosiers that they will have access to the latest and best in medical care. The National Cancer Institute designation furthers that cause. And the state's establishment of the 21st Century Growth and Technology Fund, which allocates $50 million to support research in university and business laboratories, recognizes the importance of medical research in developing and diversifying Indiana's economy.
The legislative accomplishments, the research grants, the high-profile cases‹they all testify to the medical school's stature. Then, there are the stories that most of us never hear, about everyday citizens who get another chance to pursue their dreams because of the expertise of IU doctors and researchers.Those are the most important success stories of all.
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