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The retreat, which is by the chancellor’s invitation, will bring together attendees who represent UNMC, The Nebraska Medical Center and the community. It will be held at the Marriott Hotel at 10220 Regency Circle in Omaha.
“Embracing personalized medicine and helping our great teaching faculty engage in scholarly work are two important steps UNMC must take to continue its ascent toward world-class status,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “I look forward to the ideas that come out of the retreat regarding these and other issues that are important to the medical center.”
The term personalized medicine has risen to prominence as genetic research has grown and become less expensive.
In recent years, a prevailing realization in the health care field is that genetics and other factors lead each person to be more or less prone to certain conditions and more or less affected by various treatments.
“Tailoring care to a patient’s specific needs based on genetics and other factors is the direction medicine is headed,” said Jennifer Larsen, M.D., associate dean for clinical research in the College of Medicine. “As an institution, we need to examine what we must do to properly implement this emerging type of medicine.”
Scientists theorize that aside from showing what treatments work best for different populations, a person’s genetics also may show what conditions he or she may be prone to experience at a later time. The preventive medicine ramifications of this theory are enormous, Dr. Larsen said.
But UNMC must consider ethical and legal issues regarding these developments and also ensure that the proper expertise and equipment are available to engage in the new practice, Dr. Larsen said.
Gordon Mills, M.D., Ph.D., Ransom Horne Professor in Cancer Research and chairman in the department of molecular therapeutics at the University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, will be part of a panel discussion on personalized medicine at the retreat.
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Later in the day, William Anderson, Ph.D., professor and director of the office of medical education research and development at the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University, will join UNMC faculty on a panel about the establishment of an academy of teaching scholars at UNMC.
Dr. Anderson, a graduate of Omaha Benson High School, directs an academic scholars program at Michigan State that has about 400 graduates.
The formation of an Academy of Teaching Scholars would help those faculty members who are primarily teachers engage in scholarly activity such as research and publication, said James Turpen, Ph.D., professor and vice chairman in the department of cell biology and anatomy.
“The world of academic research, particularly in terms of medical education, is a goldmine for investigators who have a passion for teaching,” Dr. Turpen said. “From exploring best practices for teaching medical students to using new technology in the classroom, this area of study is fertile. This academy would serve as a resource for faculty members interested in conducting such work.”
Academic scholarship is a way for teaching faculty to meet some of the research and publication requirements that are required for promotion and tenure, said Myrna Newland, M.D., a professor of anesthesiology.
“This is a way for these faculty members to do scholarly work in an area they feel passionate about,” Dr. Newland said. “It will allow them to take what they do well and use it to advance the knowledge base as well as their own careers.”