Teams of Top Scientists to Join University of Maryland School of Medicine as Major Recruitment Initiative Has Strong Start

Initiative Targets Leading Physicians, Scientists Studying Most Serious Diseases; UM SOM Advances in the Top Most Echelon of Biomedical Research Institutions

The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) announced today the successful recruitment of a broad slate of top scientists, as the first part of the School of Medicine’s bold new recruitment initiative called “STRAP” (Special Trans-Disciplinary Recruitment Award Program).

The Initiative, which was officially launched in late 2016, was recognized as a bold, new effort to recruit teams of some of the most talented physicians and scientists, with the primary goal of significantly catalyzing UM SOM’s focus on accelerating discoveries, cures and therapeutics for the most serious diseases that cause morbidity, mortality and disability. STRAP specifies that the UM SOM will recruit scores of well-funded teams of scientists at all faculty ranks by the year 2020, as part of Vision 2020, the shared strategic goals established by the UM SOM and the University of Maryland Medical System.

The new teams of scientists will bring federal funding of nearly $30 million (more than $11 million annually) in total grants and contracts to the UM SOM, which surpassed $400M in total research funding in 2016.

Many of the new scientists will be housed in the new 450K sq ft state-of-the art research facility on West Baltimore St., costing more than $300M, and which is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2017. The new SOM Research Building will feature among the most advanced laboratories and medical research technology found anywhere. Dean Reece pointed out that the new building is a major asset to the School’s research portfolio and will be most appealing to leading scientists who wish to have a state-of-the-art research facility for conducting discovery-based medicine in a collaborative manner and at a very high level of sophistication.

“We are off to a tremendous start with the STRAP Initiative, and are very excited to be able to attract these first teams of outstanding individuals who are nationally- and internationally recognized in their respective fields,” said Dean Reece, who is also Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor. “The University of Maryland School of Medicine is being recognized as a magnet institution for individuals interested in pursuing possible cures and treatments for the most critical and complex diseases that we face around the world.”

The program is the most significant and ambitious effort to recruit scientists in the School’s 210-year old history. It signifies an aggressive move by the UM SOM to advance in the top most echelon of leading biomedical research institutions in the nation. In particular, the School is targeting top researchers and physician scientists who will help to accelerate breakthrough discoveries in critical areas, including brain disorders, cancer, and cardiovascular-metabolic diseases. The initiative will lead to rich, collaborative research programs across the School of Medicine, the Campus and the University System, Dean Reece noted.

Experts in Lung Injury

Stephen N. Davis MBBS, the Dr. Theodore E. Woodward Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine; Jeffrey D. Hasday, MD, the Dr. Herbert Berger Endowed Professor of Medicine and Division Head, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine; and Peter Rock, MD, MBA, the Dr. Martin A. Helrich Professor and Chair of Anesthesiology; with collaboration from Thomas M. Scalea, MD, the Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor in Trauma Surgery, Director of the Program in Trauma and Physician-in-Chief at the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center; and Scott M. Thompson, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology, announced the addition of two top pulmonary scientists:

Konstantin Birukov, MD, PhD, comes to UM SOM from the University of Chicago School of Medicine, where he was an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care. He is a leading expert on the molecular mechanisms regulating lung vascular permeability, the role of mechanical forces and oxidized phospholipidome in development and recovery of lung function, and innovative strategies to prevent acute lung injury. Prior to the University of Chicago, he was a research associate at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has authored or co-authored more than 120 peer-reviewed papers and reviews, as well as two book chapters, and has four patents. Dr. Birukov will have his primary appointment in the UM SOM Department of Anesthesiology, and a secondary appointment in the Department of Medicine, and serve as Director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine Lung Biology Research Program.

Anna Birukova, MD, is a widely-published investigator in several areas, including the regulation of lung vascular permeability and inflammation by microtubules, microtubule-associated signaling molecules, and new ways to protect the lungs from acute injury. Prior to coming to UM SOM, she was also an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section for Pulmonary and Critical Care at the University of Chicago. Prior to that, she was a research associate at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and reviews and has written three book chapters. Dr. Birukova will have her primary appointment in the UM SOM Department of Medicine and a secondary appointment in the Department of Anesthesiology, and serve as Associate Director of the UM SOM Lung Biology Research Program.

The team comes to the UM SOM with $4.35 million in total research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), (more than $2 million annually).

Top Investigators in Muscle and Tendon Formation

In the Department of Orthopaedics, Andrew N. Pollak, MD, the James Lawrence Kernan Professor and Chair, has led the effort to recruit a team of leading orthopaedics researchers:

Masahiro Iwamoto, DDS, PhD, is an acclaimed scientist who has focused on the development of articular cartilage, the regulation of bone growth, and the repair of muscle, cartilage and other connective tissue. Prior to coming to UM SOM, he was a Research Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Prior to that, he was an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Dr. Iwamoto has earned four patents, and has authored or co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed papers.

Motomi Enomoto-Iwamoto, DDS, PhD, comes from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where she was a Research Associate Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery. She is an accomplished investigator who studies the cellular and signaling mechanisms that regulate skeletal development and function; the cellular pathways that lead to cartilage tumors and osteoarthritis; and the role of local progenitor cells in articular cartilage and tendon repair. Prior to CHOP, she was an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Iwamoto has earned four patents, and has authored or co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed papers.

The team joins the UM SOM faculty with more than $2.7 million in total research funding from the NIH ($675K annually).

Leading Neuroscientist in Brain Development

In the Department of Pharmacology, Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD, Professor and Chair, and Bankole A. Johnson, DSc, MD, MB, ChB, MPhil, the Dr. Irving J. Taylor Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry, have announced the addition of a nationally-recognized neuroscientist:

Tracy L. Bale, PhD, is a leading expert on the links between stress and subsequent risk for neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and schizophrenia in offspring. Her innovative studies use molecular techniques to determine the mechanisms by which this may occur. Her studies on the placenta have revealed novel sex differences that may predict increased prenatal risk for disease in males. Prior to coming to UM SOM, she was a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and the School of Veterinary Medicine. She is the Co-Director of the Specialized Center for Research on Women’s Health and Penn PROMOTES, and the Scientific Director for the BIRCWH K12. She serves as Chair of NIH study section, is a Reviewing Editor for the Journal of Neuroscience, and serves on the Congressional Committee on Gulf War Veterans Health. She has authored or co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed papers.

Dr. Bale brings nearly $4.5 million in total research funding from the NIH, ($1.9 million annually).

Top Team in Imaging and Spectroscopy

In the Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Elias Melhem, MD, the Dean John M. Dennis Chair in Radiology, has announced a team of top investigators from Hawaii.

Linda Chang, MD, MS, FAAN, FANA, is a highly-acclaimed physician-scientist coming to the UM SOM from the University of Hawaii, where she was a Professor of Medicine at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu, as well as director of the school’s Neuroscience and Magnetic Resonance Research Program. After graduating with an MD degree from Georgetown University, she became an Assistant Professor, and then an Associate, Professor of Neurology at the UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles. Dr. Chang has done research on a range of topics, including how methamphetamine and other drugs affect the brain and cognition, the neurological effects of HIV/AIDS and how the aging affects the brain. Over her career, she has authored or co-authored 200 peer-reviewed papers, and has written nearly 30 book chapters and monographs. She has also delivered 175 lectures, grand rounds, workshops & symposia.

Thomas Ernst, PhD, was also a Professor of Medicine at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. Dr. Ernst earned a PhD degree in physics from the University of Freiburg in Germany. He has focused on several areas of research, including the development of strategies to minimize motion sensitivity of magnetic resonance and other imaging techniques, and to improve the overall precision of these techniques; the use of imaging to study HIV-related brain disease, the neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine and other illicit drugs and overall brain development. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, more than 10 book chapters, and has given dozens of lectures and seminars.

The team brings $9.2 million in total research funding from the NIH, (nearly $3 million annually).

Leader in Bioengineering and Artifical Organs

In the Department of Surgery, Stephen T. Bartlett, MD, the Peter Angelos Distinguished Professor and Chair in Surgery, and Bartley Griffith, MD, the Thomas E. and Alice Marie Hales Distinguished Professor in Transplant Surgery, announced that a top bioengineering scientist is returning to the UM SOM faculty.

Zhongjun Jon Wu, PhD, is an internationally recognized authority on the development of artificial organs, ventricular assist devices, blood pumps, artificial lungs and respiratory assist devices. He was an Assistant and Associate Professor at UM SOM from 2003 to 2014, when he became a Professor of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. His primary areas of research are in blood flow, flow visualization, blood damage, cell mechanics, cardiac biomechanics, hemodynamics; biological responses to artificial organs in human and animals; and stem cell therapies for heart and lung diseases. He has earned or applied for 10 patents, has authored or co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed papers.

Dr. Wu brings nearly $1.6 million in total research funding from the NIH, (more than $660K annually)

Academic Leader in Physical Therapy

In the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, Mark Rogers, PhD, PT, Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, along with Department of Orthopaedics Chair Andrew Pollak, MD, announced the addition of top research scientist in physical medicine and rehabilitation science.

Li-Qun Zhang, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist who joins the SOM faculty as Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science (PTRS), with a secondary appointment in the Department of Orthopaedics. Dr. Zhang was previously a Professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Orthopaedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. He also served as Director of Ortho Biomech Research at Northshore University Health System and Senior Research Scientist at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He is widely published and speaks internationally on his research related to biomechanics and biomedical engineering.

Throughout his research career, he has consistently received annual NIH funding and currently holds $2.7 million total in grants ($833K annually) from the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

University of Maryland School of Medicine is a Major Global Research Enterprise

With more than $400M in total extramural research funding last year, the School of Medicine now ranks among the top research intensive institutions nationally. Key advances since the UM SOM celebrated its bicentennial in 2007 include:

• Establishment of new individual research centers and institutes focused on the study of genomic sciences; human virology; stem cell biology and regenerative medicine; shock trauma and anesthesiology; biomolecular therapeutics, and global health;
• Extensive research in transplantation leading to breakthroughs in face, kidney and lung transplants;
• Breakthrough development of major vaccines for Ebola, malaria, MERS and cholera, and the start of clinical trials for a new HIV vaccine;
• Creation of new Center for Health and Bioinformatics in collaboration with the University of Maryland, College Park to manage “big data”
• Roll-out of Shared Vision 2020 with the University of Maryland Medical System, establishing benchmark goals for education, research, clinical care and public outreach;
• Launch of SOM annual research symposium , “Festival of Science,” and formation of UM SOM Scientific Advisory Council, made up of Nobel Laureates
• Formation of the Brain Science Research Consortium Unit – the first SOM multi-disciplinary consortium unit focusing on “big science”
• Establishment of new centralized core laboratories to assist departments in conducting broad range of basic science and clinical studies: Center for Innovative Biomedical/ Imaging Resources (CIBR);
• Completion of Maryland Proton Treatment Center, the most advanced form of cancer treatment and the first in the Baltimore-Washington, DC region;
• The National Cancer Institute’s designation of the UM Greenebaum Cancer Center as a “Comprehensive Cancer Center.”
• Construction of SOM Research Building, the largest building and research facility on the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Celebrating its 210th Anniversary, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as a global leader in accelerating innovation and discovery in medicine. The School of Medicine is the founding school of the University of Maryland and is an integral part of the 11-campus University System of Maryland. Located on the University of Maryland’s Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine works closely with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide a research-intensive, academic and clinically based education. With 43 academic departments, centers and institutes and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians and research scientists plus more than $400 million in extramural funding, the School is regarded as one of the leading biomedical research institutions in the U.S. with top-tier faculty and programs in cancer, brain science, surgery and transplantation, trauma and emergency medicine, vaccine development and human genomics, among other centers of excellence. The School is not only concerned with the health of the citizens of Maryland and the nation, but also has a global presence, with research and treatment facilities in more than 35 countries around the world. http://medschool.umaryland.edu/

Learn More

• Research, Discovery & Innovation

• Vision 2020